foreign matter

'Foreign Matter' is a 4-year project on the religious worship of migrant communities in the Gulf region. It touches upon narratives of globalisation, differentiation and visibility.

This ‘quietly subversive’ body of work explores, ‘…the ties between the landscapes and nationals, and photography’s ability – or inability – to record them’ (Diane Smyth; British Journal of Photography).

As a resident of the country for over 15 years, and a doctoral scholar of religion, Hannah carries out an in-depth, ethnographic research inquiry - interviewing participants, engaging in archival research and recording audio and video.

‘Church City’ in Qatar is a tiny ghetto of worship that sits on the edge of the desert. Unremarkable in its bland, external appearance, the parcel of land is the designated site for the building of Christian churches in the country.

From the outside, much is hidden from public view and goes unseen as religious activities, dress and symbols are permitted solely within its confines. Yet, a vibrant religious life goes on behind its closed doors.

Here, hundreds of thousands of Christians migrants regularly descend upon this bounded area measuring just 500m by 200m.

British Journal of Photography

Issue 7923 (2025)

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The work exists as a series of images, two short video works and several sculptures.

A sense of the attendant process of ‘revealing’ and ‘concealing’ is captured through the body of photographic images together with a group of 3D installations. These are comprised of documentary images shown on transparent acrylic panels cut into intricate geometric patterns of traditional 9th century Islamic design.

By departing from figurative aesthetics, the spectator is compelled to assume numerous viewing points to locate and uncover the underlying forms obscured by the multi-dimensionality of the image. The disrupted literal forms imparting a sense of the ‘hiddenness’ attendant to these religious spaces.

Foreign Matter shares part of the story of migrant works that has been almost entirely overlooked. Beyond the building sites, office cubicles and living compounds, religious communities offer a base of support to those who find themselves detached from familial support systems. The work pushes back against reductive portrayals of migrants and counters tropes that deem them powerless and lacking in agency.

A truly unique place, it is an island of Christianity in the sand virtually unknown to the world.

Seeking to depict patterns of human interaction,

the project articulates a mass movement of people who

navigate the socio-cultural heritage of their temporary home.