Meant to include these two in the last post, but let’s have this post serve as a part 2 since I get to share more flicks from opening night😋 Thank you to everyone for all the love and support, my heart is so so full❤️
slide 3📸: @talyssanavi
slides 4-6📸: @genevieveehrichs
I am so excited to finally share my senior thesis “Portraits in Exile”❤️
I owe so much to the female Iranian pop divas I grew up listening to; those who forever shaped Iranian sound, history, and culture. Growing up Iranian-American, the images of these women allowed me to see the beauty and strength of my identity. I learned to see myself as part of a culture that prized a particularly powerful form of femininity. This work is my homage to these women, especially those silenced or forced to flee their homeland after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
In pre-revolutionary Iran, female pop stars freely expressed individuality through their style, presence, and sound. After the revolution, their album covers were now produced in exile and smuggled back into Iran. These “portraits in exile” trace the repression Iranian women faced, the regime’s struggle against Western influence, and the cultural stagnation that emerged from suppressing feminine expression.
On view at the FIT museum until May 25th!
A huge thank you to Jonathan (@prodseepy ), my lovely boyfriend who I couldn’t have done this series without.
I’m beyond excited to finally share my project on Iranian creatives that I did earlier this year.
Thank you to the beautiful people featured for letting me interview and photograph them, allowing me to share the stories of Iranian creators in NYC and bring much needed representation to our community.
Individual posts coming soon! ❤️
