I was born and raised immersed in Iranian society for the first half of my life. Having experienced the major shift in society after the Revolution, and the oppression that followed, I moved with my family to the UK. I have spent the second half of my life consumed in Western culture. I travel back almost every year to Iran where I could see the obvious changes. My photography takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues in less fortunate societies specially Iran, my homeland. I quest the unknown and I look for the light within the shadows. I am interested in the way becoming part of a society, can establish identity, but also takes the emphasis away from the individual. In my Photography I am interested in finding something invisible and hidden in us, the essence of human ability in adaptation for survival.
“Akas-Kooneh†– A traditional term used in Iran, pertaining to the location where individuals would have their portraits taken, typically at the home of the photographer. Literally translated as “The Photographer’s Houseâ€.
A series of family portraits taken in a makeshift studio at the back of a hairdresser’s salon, in the North of Iran.
One of the ladies on the series was running the hairdresser's Salon and she used her basement as the studio to take wedding pictures. This was where pictures were taken from brides and their relatives after they have their makeup done.
There have been lots of unexpected changes for Iranian families in their social and economic way of life during the last forty years. There are rules which need to be obeyed and some time people have to scarify their truth and freedom for security.
Although men in the pictures were relatives they were not allowed to enter in to women's hairdressers salons and see their family dressed up and not covered. We had to wait for night time(while no one was around)to bring them in.
In Iran over the last four decades, social and political pressure has influenced society, and created an identity crisis for a lot of the population. In this series my aim was to express the conflicts in human choice, freedom and security. Having no specific destination, they wait, deploying their efforts towards obeying the rules but still honoring their traditions and truth and keep their heads up.