Barialai Khoshhal
Echoes of Home
The Afghan Community in Ireland

Éireann Room, Dublin Castle
18 October - 29 October 2023

For free. For everyone.

Following the second fall of Afghanistan in twenty years, Barialai Khoshhal came to Ireland as a refugee. His own family was shattered into 5 different countries. Adjusting to a new life in Ireland Barialai found that the idea of 'home' had lost its meaning. For 'Echoes of Home' the artist set out to explore what home means to fellow Afghans living in Ireland. The work brings together Barialai's photographs from Afghanistan showing what daily normal life looked like before the fall, together with a series of portraits and stories of Afghans who now live in Ireland. Several of the photographs also feature host families who have formed relationships with Afghans who came to live in their homes. Participants were asked to describe what 'home' means to them in their own words.

The photographs and text combine to create an important record that documents the building of new lives and the creation of enduring bonds of love.

About the artist

Barialai has nine years' experience in documentary photography. His work has been published in AP, BBC, ITV London, Aljazeera English, the Diplomat Magazine, The Irish Independent, the Dublin Inquirer, and The Irish Times. He has worked as a photographer, photojournalist, and videographer from 2014 to present. He won the UNESCO photo competition in Afghanistan in 2017.

He came to Ireland in 2021 following the fall of Kabul. In 2022, he was awarded the Business to Arts Jim McNaughton Tilestyle Artist Bursary and CREATE Ireland Project Realisation Award. His work has been featured in a number of international group photo exhibitions in Kabul, New York, Canada, Paris, Jakarta, Oslo, Dublin, and Tehran.

He is currently Artist-in-Residence in Photo Museum Ireland. He also works as a freelance photographer, undertaking commissions for a variety of corporate and NGO organizations across Ireland.

To find out more, visit:
www.barialaikhoshhal.com
www.openddoorsinitiative.ie