Photo of the Week: Mohamed Kotb

This edition of Photo of the Week is about labour erasing the self. In the image, young girls carry stacks of red bricks across their bodies, the bricks obscuring who they are. Their faces are hidden; their bodies dissolve into a background of the same brick-red hue. They disappear into their surroundings, visually and metaphorically.

In his long-term project Red Brick Dreams, Egyptian photographer Mohamed Kotb sets out to capture what he calls a “lost childhood”, following young girls in Rashid, in Egypt’s Nile Delta, who work to support their families. The images resist sensationalism. They show the girls covering their faces as they endure the physical conditions of the work, the dust and particles settling around them. Brick by brick, layer by layer, the girls cover themselves until they almost melt into the frame.

Based in Alexandria, Kotb’s work explores long-term narratives around social, humanitarian and anthropological issues. He holds a degree in Mass Communication from Beirut Arab University and has studied Photojournalism at the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX), as well as Documentary Photography at the VII Academy. His work has received support from institutions including the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the Prince Claus Fund, in partnership with the Magnum Foundation, and has been exhibited in Egypt and internationally at Cairo Photo Week, Alexandria Photo Week and the Image Festival Amman.

Red Brick Dreams was also recently selected for the 2026 Tasweer Award.

Tell us about the story of this image. When and where was it taken?

I took this photograph in a traditional red brick factory near Rashid in the Nile Delta as part of my long-term project, Red Brick Dreams. The project specifically focuses on the child labour of underage girls who are forced into this exhausting work to support their families.

Why did you choose this particular image?

I chose this image because it captures the weight and hidden reality of underage girls working in the red brick factories. The scene of a young girl balancing heavy stacks of red bricks on her head—her face covered to endure the harsh conditions—creates a metaphor for lost childhood, resilience, and the heavy physical burden these young girls carry.