Creating cross-border connections

Spanning geographical locations that range from ultra-modern Arab cities to remote villages in China, the photographic work of Mimo Khair is a voyage of discovery, quite literally, which is brimming with contrasts. 

And yet despite the rich tapestry of themes and topics, a common thread runs through her work, which is the sense of a deep-rooted connectivity established with her subjects. 

“For me, it’s all about building connections with people - capturing snapshots of their lives - and sharing what I discover with audiences,” explained Khair, a Lebanese-American artist who lives in Duesseldorf, Germany. 

This ethos is perfectly exemplified in the two works that Khair showed at a recent exhibition in Rome, titled ‘Shades of a Woman’. Both the photographs present women in their natural environments – the remote Yunnan Province in southwest China for one and Abu Dhabi City for the other.

“I chose these two works because they relayed what I wanted to say so clearly,” Khair explained. “The message is that while these two women are worlds apart in lifestyle and circumstances, both face challenges on a day-to-day level. That is their reality.” 

Humanity has long been at the heart of Khair’s practice. In fact, having chosen Egypt for her first assignment, she soon realized that it was the people, rather than the buildings, that were the main draw.

“I’d developed a fascination with Egypt while studying Anthropology, so in many ways it was a natural choice for my first project,” she said. “Of course, the Pyramids on the Nile and the many other monuments there are breathtaking, but on their own, they somehow felt a little cold. I felt that by photographing the people, I also captured something of their legacy which shone through in the photos.”

Humanity, intertwined with heritage, is also clearly caught and celebrated in the vast body of work Khair undertook over several years in Asia. The photographs feature men, women and children from tribes located in remote regions of China, complete with traditional costumes in vibrant colours and exquisite embroidery.

“The aim is always the same - to capture the authenticity of the people I meet, wherever they live on the planet,” she said. “This is what I chase, while doing my best to avoid and cut through the homogenous.”

Khair’s photography from this time was showcased in a high-profile solo show in 2016, held in Duesseldorf. Large in scale, it featured 150 photographs, including some taken of the ethnic minority people of Yunnan. However, despite the epic size and scale of the assignment, Khair feels it remains incomplete.

“There are so many tribes I didn’t manage to meet in this part of China and there is also a sense of urgency,” she admitted. “The children in these villages are growing up and adopting a more modern culture. There is a sense that things are transitioning. I’d like to go back and do more with the people before their way of life disappears.”

Authenticity is also at the core of Khair’s street photography, another integral part of her practice, in which she offers audiences glimpses of everyday life beyond borders. From silhouetted figures descending the crisscross staircases of contemporary architectural landmarks in the UAE and others ambling through Venice’s charming cobbled narrow alleyways to barefoot children playing outside makeshift buildings in India’s villages, Khair’s photos offer an insightful window on the world.

In a recent new series of work, Khair also chose to explore the concept of connectivity from a different angle by focusing on the ever-increasing role of tech in our world. The idea, she explained, was to question whether we should be a little more cautious about the digital tools at our fingertips and their role in strengthening our connectivity. 

“New digital technology has made us feel more connected than ever before in many ways, but simultaneously, we have also become more isolated at times even when together, on social media and inside screens,” she noted. “This was a theme I wanted to explore.” 

Khair stressed that she is certainly not a technophobe. “I love tech and in fact and am exploring AI in my animations,” she explained. “If anything, one of my aims is to try to reverse the disconnects through my work, using a screen to connect and reconnect people. In a way, this is what street photographers do - bridging the gaps between people and telling their stories.”

That passion for storytelling dates back to Khair’s childhood, when, as a young girl in Lebanon, she wrote and created art, in part to help block out the trauma of the civil war that was ravaging the country.

Having decided to relocate to New York from Lebanon after graduating, she found herself drawn once again to the performing arts, but unsure about which direction to take. It was after stumbling across an abandoned Pentax camera at the beach while on vacation that Khair found her calling. 

“After checking with Lost Property, I was given the green light to keep the camera and that was it,” she explained. “I knew right away that photography was my calling.”

Having spent a month with a friend learning the basics, Khair bought 35 rolls of film and set off for Egypt on her first assignment.

Since then, she has honed her craft, carving a niche in the fields of fine art photography, street photography, documentary photography, motion design and writing. 

Against that backdrop, Khair is currently in the midst of a packed schedule of exhibitions taking place across Europe and the Middle East, while also working on other projects that include a compilation of street photography for her books. To date, her work has already featured at events in Paris, Rome and Venice in 2025, with further group shows on the horizon before the year end in Treviso and Duesseldorf. A London show is another project in the pipeline. And Khair will also be returning to Rome and Venice in the autumn, much to her delight.

“Both cities are magical,” she mused. “I’m thrilled that I’ll be back there in the coming months. But I’m always on a voyage of discovery wherever I am. There are people and places to photograph in every location. I’m never short of inspiration.”

For a full list of Mimo Khair’s work and exhibitions, go to https://linktr.ee/mimokhair