The last time I saw you by Ruwan Teodros, a film photography + installation

on show June 14-16, 2024

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The last time I saw my grandfather’s village in the South was last July, the flowers were blooming and the sun was burning my shoulders. 

My jeddo, who passed 5 years ago, was originally from Insarieh, Lebanon born and raised in a tiny home that has now grown to become a much bigger house that still houses most of his direct family. It is a special village, not particularly impressive or grand, but it is a place that meant so much to him throughout his life.

As an Ethiopian-Lebanese, I’ve always felt confused about my identity and questioned my sense of belonging in Lebanon. But on that visit to my jeddo’s village, seeing the pictures of him hung up in his family home, hearing my teta reminisce with his family about what a kind and generous man he was - I truly felt the power of my Lebanese roots. More specifically, my connection to the brave and beautiful South of Lebanon that as we all know, has been under brutal Israeli aggression since October 8th.

These photographs were taken on a Canon A-1 film camera my jeddo got for my mother in the early 80s, which was passed on to me by my mother. Forty years later, on my first time shooting with the camera, I took these wonderful shots of his family home in Insarieh, my teta at a restaurant in Saida, a fisherman in Saida, and a family enjoying a Sunday out together in Saida.

It is a bittersweet feeling looking at these photographs, because little did I know on that day last summer that it would be the last time I visited my grandfather’s village for a while. But I know I’ll be back soon, chasing that peaceful summer day in the South, with the sun burning my skin.
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Ruwan Teodros is a Lebanese-Ethiopian copywriter and photographer living between New York and Beirut - most likely to be seen photographing cats by the Mediterranean sea.