Faith and connection are key elements in the work of Marwan Bassiouni. This Swiss photographer with an Egyptian and Italian-American background didn’t become a practising Muslim until a later age. For his series Prayer rug selfies (2017 – ongoing), an ongoing photo diary, he takes an on-site picture of his prayer rug after each prayer: a classroom, parking garage or forest. The result: contemplative images where time and place coincide with spirituality. 

Over the past decades, Marwan has also visited dozens of mosques in the Netherlands and other western countries. In each mosque, he took a head-on picture from a window that offered a view of the surroundings. These pictures connect the western environment with the eastern style of interior decoration. There’s no trickery involved, just a registration of the interior and the view, yet the photographs have an alienating quality since they merge two rather clashing worlds in a single image. This series is a keen illustration of how Islam is a regular part of our world.