Medea (I)
(Senior Project)
Permanence it’s sociological impact is a notion I’ve always been fascinated by, in my own life as well as in literature and film. For my senior project, I first wanted to explore this idea of permanence and its relationship with the camera, how photography can be a way to hold on to each fleeting moment, a way I subconsciously prove my existence in the world. Prove my moment of being.
Upon reflecting on my time at NYU, I feel so changed and molded by the people around me, most crucially the adult women in my life.
And, recently inspired by James Joyce’s Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, I wondered about my own maternal relationships, the parallels I feel with them, and the way I can perpetuate my admiration for them, forever.
My first series which I title “Medea”, are portraits of my six favorite female professors and mentors that I’ve had the privilege of truly getting to know during the last four years. Their maternal impact on my young adulthood is not something I take for granted.
Allyson Paty, Anne Dewitt, Nancy Barton, Corinne Butta, Lauren Walsh and Karen Holmberg.
Medea (II)
Mamani and my aunt Ashraf at my mom’s wedding. (May 11th 2002, Santa Barbara, CA)
Then I went home, with the understanding that this admiration has always been there. Although it was my grandfather who brought his nine siblings from Iran to the US, the matriarchy is all-consuming within my family ties.
I have memories of my great-grandmother, who we called Mamani (مامانی), sitting stern and silent, with her jet-black hair peeking through her shawl. Indifferent, observing, after she’d kissed my brother and me on each cheek.
The women who raised my mother and eventually me are pictured. My cousins, aunts, and grandmother.
Ezzat, Nosrat, Sara, Goli , Connie and Serena.
