A personal archive

Colonialoscopy

I explore my recent family history — tracing the routes, relationships, and reckoning of a family entangled with the British Empire.

"Like a medical procedure that looks inward to find what's hidden, this project turns the lens on my own family's entanglement with the British Empire."

The photographs

From the Archive

Medieval fortress archival photograph
Haji Rikkan Marsh Arab book cover by Fulanain
Historical map of Mesopotamia showing Tigris and Euphrates
Person on white horse in palm grove
Woman with baby carriage, 1940s
Vintage scrapbook photo album page, Shimlan 1924

The project

Why Colonialoscopy?

The name is deliberately provocative. This project turns the lens on my own family's entanglement with the British Empire — the roles they played, the places they went, and the lives they touched and disrupted along the way.

It is not a celebration. It is an examination — of Mesopotamia, of the Mandate years, of what empire looks like from the inside of a family photograph album.

Read the full story
Peter with local sheikhs, c. 1920s

Peter with local sheikhs, c. 1920s

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Do you recognise someone in these photographs?

If you have photographs, documents, or memories connected to this history, I would love to hear from you.