Exhibition “DeDakkas”

From April 10th, 2025, and for the duration of 6 months, two photo series will be on show in DeDakkas, a restaurant and exhibition space in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The exhibition ‘Company of Many’ is our introduction to a wider audience of this ongoing project, ahead of planning for new hiking legs.

The exhibition at DeDakkas features two photo series, selected from Daniel Maissan's work:

Dukan Lake follows a group of friends in Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. When Daniel and Lisa visited the area in 2021, the region had gained more autonomy from the federal government in the wake of the defeat of terrorist organisation ISIS. Young people in particular took advantage of these regained freedoms and moved to the outdoors, to reclaim their land and culture. Their weekend outings and hikes - extensively documented for Instagram - were like a modern, more exciting version of the traditional family picnic. They provided a brief escape from conservative social norms, even during Ramadan.

The black-and-white portraits feature men who, in this region full of contradictions and considered shorthand for complicated histories of conflict and struggle, share something fundamental: they are all called Abraham. Or Ibrahim. Or Avram. They all carry the name of the patriarch of three world religions, who is equally revered in smaller sects and faith groups. Daniel and Lisa spent time with these communities on their hikes, and were extended the hospitality that this prophet is recounted to have shown travellers and strangers.