The story behind the project
Colonialoscopy
A personal excavation of family history across the British colonial world — from the marshes of Mesopotamia to the streets of London.
Why Colonialoscopy?
The name is deliberately provocative. 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 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.
A chronology
Key Moments
1914–1918
The Great War & Mesopotamia
Family members served in the Mesopotamian campaign, part of Britain's effort to secure oil routes and counter Ottoman influence. The region — modern-day Iraq — would never be the same.
1920s
The Mandate Years
Under the British Mandate, family connections deepened with the region. Photographs from this era show formal gatherings with local sheikhs, journeys through the marshes, and the quiet rhythms of colonial administration.
1924
Shimlan & the Lebanon
A summer retreat to Shimlan in the Lebanese mountains. The album page dated August–October 1924 captures children, family groups, and a world that felt, briefly, at peace.
1930s–1940s
Return & Reckoning
As empire began its long retreat, family members returned to Britain carrying photographs, books, and memories. Among them: a copy of Haji Rikkan, Marsh Arab — a book that tried to humanise the people the Empire had governed.
The people
Key Figures
Peter
Photographed with local sheikhs in traditional dress, Peter represents the complex personal relationships that formed across colonial divides — genuine friendships built within deeply unequal structures.
Monica
Photographed on horseback in a palm grove, Monica navigated the world of colonial wives — accompanying, adapting, and leaving her own quiet record in the family archive.
This project is ongoing. New documents, photographs, and family memories continue to surface. If you have connections to this history, I would love to hear from you.
Get in touch