Maheder Haileselassie 

Between yesterday and tomorrow

Over decades, the unknown and impossible of Shoa’s complex past has been presented and represented with different figures taking different forms in the course of its history. What was known was not enough to bring us together and what was unknown was far more too dangerous for it had the power of keeping us apart. As time goes by, what was considered to be known was rewritten, rethought, rediscovered, hidden or overshadowed. After my trip to Ankober, Shoa did not exist in my mind maintaining a tangible form. I now imagine it as a still center of argument and I’m sure for many people, it’s also considered to be a birthplace of a present time nostalgia. I did not find Shoa in Addis Ababa or for that matter even in Ankober. The cityscape of the former and the landscape of the latter were indeed visually appealing but the Shoa I understood was beyond these known shapes and landmarks. It was broader; It was vague. It was not the past; It was not the Future. But it was definitely something intertwined in between, still being made. 

Words by Maheder Haileselassie

About Maheder Haileselassie

Maheder Haileselassie Tadese (b.1990) is a photographer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her inspiration to photograph comes from the history, identity, memories of her own and of people she engages with everyday. She has been accepted to prestigious programs such as New York Times Portfolio review 2019 and World Press Photo Masterclass East Africa and has made a presentation at RAY Festival, Germany, 2018. She is also a contributor for @everydayafrica on Instagram and has recently founded Center for Photography in Ethiopia (CPE), a learning and discussion platform for Ethiopian Photographers. Haileselassie has been working for wires and major news organizations such as AFP, Reuters, Getty Images, Le Monde and Der Spiegel. She is also a member of international associations Women Photograph and Authority Collective. Her work has been published in ‘Mfon: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora’ and ‘Tales of Ethiopia’. She recently curated the photography exhibition titled ‘Baxxe:Home’ and has also co-edited a photography publication titled ‘Against Gravity’. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions around the world.