DMJX graduates Mohammad Jaafer and Salih Basheer have each published personal books about their home country Sudan. Teacher at DMJX Søren Pagter has been working together with both photographers during the editing and design processes of the books.
Mohammad Jaafer launched his book The Scent of Earth after Rain with an exhibition at Turkis in Aarhus on April 30, 2025. Jaafer was an ECCA scholarship student in 2023 and has graduated both Photo 1 and Photo 2 programmes at DMJX.
Photo: Søren Pagter
“The Scent of Earth After Rain” is an endeavor to reconstruct personal memory and build a private archive to preserve what remains of the Jaafer’s photographs and recollections of Sudan. It arises from the harsh reality of a forced diaspora imposed by war, where he found himself in direct confrontation with the loss of both homeland and memory. This project follows the loss of his belongings including all hard drives, equipment, and years of photographic documentation upon his arrival in Denmark in 2023, shortly before the outbreak of the war in Sudan.
In this work, Jaafer gathers fragments of his old photographs from digital archives and social media platforms to rebuild a personal memory of home, family, and his country. It is an attempt to tame the sense of loss and the fraying of the bonds that once formed his social safety net.
Text and pictures by Mohammad Jaafer
Editing and layout by Kristian Thuesen and Søren Pagter
Publisher Kumbhaka
Examples of spreads from Mohammad Jaafer’s book The Scent of Earth after Rain:
In The Return Salih Basheer documents the devastation of the war in Sudan, focusing on the humanitarian impact and experiences of loss and displacement. Born in Sudan, Salih is intimately connected to this story, and through it, he presents the challenges his people are facing — both inside Sudan and in neighboring countries where many have sought refuge.
Salih Basheer graduated from DMJX in the spring 2021 after having studied as VII Foundation scolarship student in the fall 2020 and in the spring 2021. His prize winnining book 22 Days in Between, also edited by Søren Pagter, was been made during and straight after Salih Basheer’s Photo 2 study at DMJX.
Diary texts and testimonies by Salih Basheer
Essay by Joshua Craze
Graphic design by Salih Basheer
Book Layout by Søren Boe Pagter
Text editing and proofreading by Annuska Angulo
Collaboration: Thereis few drawings in the book made by displaced Sudanese individuals.
Examples of spreads from Salih Basheer’s selfpublished book The Return:
