Ethiopian photographer Sosina Mengistu began her self-portrait project, 'So I See Me', in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project, which continues to this day, uses the camera to explore her own experiences and feelings.
Mengistu was in her final year of an engineering degree at the University of Gondar when the pandemic started. She became stranded for eight months in Bahir Dar due to travel restrictions, leading to uncertainty about her future and graduation.
During this period, she turned to self-portraits as a way to process feelings of anxiety and frustration. After graduating and struggling to find work, Mengistu decided to pursue photography full-time, moving away from her engineering background. She has since selected and published approximately 153 self-portraits from this period.