Our Hidden Room, by Mohamed Hassan, tells the delicate story of his father, marked by mental illness, exploring themes of resilience and belonging through the powerful language of photography. Part of the exhibition cycle The Body I Live In, which considers the body as a “territory of conflict and a borderland for identity reclamation,” the show offers a deeply personal visual narrative that delves into the complex interweaving of memory, lived experience, and inner strength. Our Hidden Room is a love letter to a fragile father – yet one capable of teaching his son the true meaning of resilience –
to photography, the language that Mohamed Hassan (Alexandria, 1984) chose to hold together the pieces of his own story.
As the fourth solo exhibition in the The Body I Live In series, Our Hidden Room, curated by Irene Alison and Paolo Cagnacci, reconstructs the life of the photographer’s father, born in 1950s Egypt and forced to grapple with mental illness throughout his life.Amid a life scarred first by abuse and then by bipolar disorder—leading to multiple hospitalizations and a suicide attempt – the man finds solace, refuge, and passion in photography. This passion, which at times verged on obsession, offered him both a vehicle for self-expression and a sliver of light in his darkest hours. That same passion now fuels the work of his son, who has devoted his life to photography and who has dedicated this project to his father, who passed away in 2010. The project – winner of the Star Photobook Dummy Award 2024 and now published in book form by RM—is intimate, delicate, and heart-wrenching.
A journey through memory, identity, and the shadowy corners of hidden rooms – of both the mind and the darkroom – where the father’s ghosts and the son’s dreams have taken shape. 
