Leaves Fall in All Seasons

Leaves Fall in All Seasons forms part of Ahmed Mater’s decade-long project to document unprecedented development in the Islamic holy city of Mecca. Mater combines triumphant moments such as the placement of the crescent moon atop the Mecca Royal Clocktower with documentation of on-the-ground activism by Muslim workers—many of them undocumented and unable to leave the city—demanding an end to low or unpaid wages, exploitative labor practices, and poor living conditions. The video is composed entirely of mobile-phone footage captured by construction workers, whose livelihoods and lives are entangled with the ongoing realities of migration, private development, and rapid transformation.