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I didn't' choose to Love you

Rahaf Alhazmi

Rahaf Alhazmi is a Saudi photographer and researcher whose work explores personal histories, collective memory, and storytelling through contemporary media. With a background in photojournalism and documentary photography from the University of the Arts London (UAL), Alhazmi’s practice incorporates photography, digital media, and everyday objects to investigate themes of identity, emotion, and shared experience in Saudi culture.

Her work repurposes stories, transforming them into powerful symbols that reflect on care, belonging, and the quiet gestures embedded in daily life. Alhazmi weaves narratives that bridge personal and collective histories through a participatory approach, engaging and working directly with people in the creation of her projects; Offering a thoughtful exploration of memories, feelings and social narratives.

With a process-driven methodology, Alhazmi’s practice challenges conventional ideas of materiality and value, turning discarded objects into sites of reflection, connection, and storytelling.

Rahaf Alhazmi is a Saudi photographer and researcher whose work explores personal histories, coll...

I didn’t choose to love you is not a conclusion…

…but a dialogue about love. 

In a culture where love exists as a mirage, distant and quiet. 

It lives in the mind, in the heart. 

Felt in silence, behind closed doors, 

as though love were meant to stay in the shadows. 

Where song and poetry have made us believe, that love is something far, far away... 

Ten Saudi women, open-up bravely about what love means to them. Representing love from their everyday life. Breaking the silence, speaking louder. Their words and images invite you to join them in this discussion. As the mirage disappears, and love becomes loud and seen.

I didn’t choose to love you is the beginning of a song. It continues: “I’ll apologize for everything; except for love. For love, I have no excuse.”

…. I would add: I didn’t choose love; I have no other choice but to do so.

Final work

  • A man holding his little brother in the air playfully.
  • Hand holding a picture, it's out of focus but shows an older women and 3 young girls.
  • A couple walking together and holding hands.
  • Page from a notebook with hand writing answering questions about love.
  • A diagram drawn about the acts of love.
  • Text and drawing explaining the importance of self love.
Looking over the holly mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

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  • People fishing over a concrete barrier by the sea.
  • Blurred image of what looks like a landscape.
  • Perfumes on a table.

Research and process

  • A chair
  • Paper with Arabic text, taken from workshops.
  • The place the workshop took place.

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I didn't' choose to Love you

I didn’t choose to love you is not a conclusion… …but a dialogue about love. In a culture where love exists as a mirage, distant and quiet. It li...

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