about the book:

A stirring love letter to the artist's great-grandmother, Aisha, and a visual and poetic homage to an elderly generation of women across the Middle East and Northern Africa-- the very matriarchies Al-Arashi descends from.

This is the first published collection of the work of Yemeni-Egyptian American photographer and filmmaker Yumna Al-Arashi (born 1988). Inspired by Al-Arashi's great-grandmother, Aisha, the book is a homage to the lineage of women from the many-layered landscapes of the MENA region. Searching for an understanding of the tattoos that graced her great-grandmother's body, Al-Arashi embraces the complexities of a symbolic matriarchal tradition. Unable to visit one of her places of origin, the war-stricken Yemen, Al-Arashi traveled through Northern Africa, where she met and photographed a diverse group of women belonging more or less to the same generation. By refusing the violence of selection and definition surrounding women's practices, Al-Arashi publishes every single photograph from her journey in this 392 page monograph, moving the work into an ethereal cinematic celebration.

Aisha includes Al-Arashi's prose and poetry in which she reflects on memories of her great-grandmother. In her genre-stretching texts, Al-Arashi also speaks on colonial archives, intergenerational storytelling and the complexities of transnational female Arab identity in patriarchal, capitalist and imperialist societies.

about the artist:

Yumna Al-Arashi is an artist, filmmaker, and writer whose work straddles the intersection of history, identity, and power. Through striking visual compositions, her work reclaims lost narratives, challenges colonial legacies, and redefines the representation of women, the Arab world, and the environmentwith an unflinching, poetic gaze. Her imagery—steeped in myth, memory, and resistance—invokes a sense of timelessness, drawing from centuries-old traditions while speaking urgently to contemporary struggles. Through her lens, beauty becomes an act of defiance, and storytelling a form of reclamation.

Her work has been exhibited at MoMA PS1, the International Center for Photography NYC, Helmhaus Zürich, Institut du Monde Arab Paris, and more. Her films and photographs have also been featured in global platforms like National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Guardian. Beyond the art world, she is a sought-after speaker and educator, using her platform to reshape conversations around representation, visual ethics, and the power of storytelling as a tool for change.

Her award-winning short film The 99 Names of God (2018) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and her images of the Bolivian Cholitas graced the cover of Vogue Mexico & Latin America’s 20th Anniversary Issue, in 2020. Her film rage was nominated for the CIRCA Prize in 2024. Her first monograph, Aisha, was published by Edition Patrick Frey in Autumn 2024 and awarded The Most Beautiful Swiss Books Prize the same year.

Accessibility note: This event is up two flights of stairs and Lost City Books does not have an elevator. Please contact events@lostcitybookstore.com with questions.

Dato de accesibilidad: Este evento toma lugar en el segundo piso y Lost City Books no tiene ascensor. Favor de contactar events@lostcitybookstore.com con cualquiera duda.

Yumna Al-Arashi: Aisha