"The Furniture City" in Egypt.. A Photographer Documents the Craft of Making Homes for Newlyweds

- Photography is not just an artistic practice for Egyptian photographer Mariam Ashraf, but a way to save memories from oblivion, which drove her to document the craft of furniture making that has been linked to the identity of the Egyptian city of Damietta for a decade, yet is on the verge of disappearing today. Like many who grew up in Damietta, Ashraf grew up with the sound of hammering nails, the buzzing of saws, and the sounds embedded in her childhood memories.

During the project "Made of Wood", the Egyptian photographer documented the collapse of the furniture industry that families have inherited through generations, along with the subsequent closure of workshops and the loss of heritage leading to severe losses. Ashraf says in an interview with Afaq News in Arabic: "It is a story of a city, a story of a craft, and my story too." "The city of furniture" is how Damietta is remembered in Egyptian memory, according to Ashraf, who clarifies that it was "the destination for those about to marry due to its reputation for the quality of its wood and the skill of its craftsmen."

However, this identity began to erode with the decline of the furniture industry and the closure of many workshops, some of which have been around for more than half a century. The collapse of the sector has driven many artisans to abandon the profession they inherited from their parents.

Ashraf points out: "Some turned to other jobs, while others could not bear the weight of the loss and chose to end their lives by their own hands." In her photographic works, the Egyptian photographer documented the remaining workshops in their daily state, the people who still work in them, as well as the effects of the profession on their bodies and lives.

She also tried to highlight the emptiness and change left by the decline of the industry in the city. The Egyptian photographer discovered during conversations with the craftsmen that this craft was not just a source of income for some, but was part of their identity, dignity, and sense of self-worth.

On the other hand, Ashraf noticed a significant feeling of helplessness among some artisans, as she says: "Some of them were not given the opportunity for education or to obtain a primary certificate, and thus their options became very limited when the furniture industry declined." The situation reached a point where one of them had to work in delivery or sell vegetables to support his family after having owned his own workshop.

What affected her the most was the insistence of some artisans on rare crafts, such as wood engraving, despite the fact that they have become threatened with extinction. Ashraf explains: "Some of them spoke about it as an art and not just a profession, and they cling to its details and precision even with the decline in demand for it."

These scenes made her realize that what is happening in Damietta is not only related to the decline of the furniture industry, but also to a change in the lives of individuals, and the relationship of a city with a craft that was an essential part of its identity and memory. The Egyptian photographer confirms that the project "is not only a documentation of the collapse of an industry, but an attempt to preserve a part of the memory of a city that formed its identity through work, the memory of people, workshops, and the craft that has been passed down from generation to generation and is now beginning to disappear, leaving behind a fracture in the collective memory of the city."