Chapter I

It is rooted in Afghanistan, a land once known as Aryana, crossroads of the Silk Road and a place of exchanges and passage for millennia.

Beyond the images of war that dominate the collective imagination, another Afghanistan exists: one of remote valleys, peoples, and traditions that endure despite the erosion of time and the upheavals of history.

My work seeks to bear witness to these ancient voices, everyday gestures, and a silent dignity too often overlooked by dominant narratives.

This chapter stands as a first step, a reconnaissance, an initial immersion that will allow me to go further in understanding and documenting these communities.

It is conceived as a living archive, an attempt to preserve the memory of what is vanishing, while also revealing the coexistence of heritage and modernity.

A starting point, before deepening the work and extending the story to other territories.