I Didn't Choose to Love You

This is not a conclusion, but an open dialogue about love. In a culture where it exists as a mirage, distant and quiet, ten Saudi women bravely open up about what love means to them. As the mirage fades, love becomes loud and visible.

I Didn’t Choose to Love You explores the representation of love in Saudi Arabia. I worked with nine Saudi women from different age groups who bravely opened up about what love means to them, representing it through moments from their everyday lives in a culture where love exists as a mirage. Their words and images invite the viewer to join in this dialogue; to expand the conversation around love in Saudi, to reconsider stereotypes, and to appreciate love in its many forms. By giving love visibility, this work seeks to inspire courage, reflection, and empathy. As the mirage begins to disappear, love becomes loud and seen.

Visual representations of love in Saudi Arabia are largely absent from the public sphere. Existing representations often rely on poetry, songs, or symbolic gestures, reinforcing stereotypes that frame love as weakness, naivety, or something to be hidden. This work addresses a significant gap through a participatory, female-led photographic approach that centres lived experience rather than idealised narratives, making it a valuable contribution to discussions around emotion, representation, and cultural change.

My decision to adopt a participatory approach came from a desire to create an honest representation of love, one that emerges from lived experiences rather than external interpretations. I wanted to move away from dominant Western narratives and globalised ideals that often shape how love is understood and represented. By allowing the participants to photograph and articulate their own experiences, this process creates space for individual perspectives that are rooted in their cultural and personal realities.

I Didn’t Choose to Love You includes analogue photographs made by the participants alongside excerpts from their journals and written responses to a series of questions that were discussed in individual workshops. Taking their negatives and making analogue prints of their work gave me time and space to connect with their experiences and form my own impressions of their work. The texts and images do not provide complete explanations, but instead leave room for individual interpretation.

"ما اخترت أنا أحبك" “I Didn’t Choose to Love You” is the beginning of a famous Saudi song. It continues: “I’ll apologise 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.