ARTIST STATEMENT, 2018
If I don’t tell my story, then someone else will.
I am 21. Muslim. Indian. A Woman. I study Film and Media Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. I wear a hijab. It is my source of liberation. My peace.
I have found that not everyone sees me the same way I see myself.
I have always been attracted to the visual: movies, photographs, or just the scenes in front of me when I go out for a walk. I know I see the world differently. I see the details. The Magic in the everyday.
Photography has been my form of expression since I was 12 years old, giving me the ability to tell stories, to create a connection with people and things. I want my images to tackle the misrepresentation of people in the media. Straight on. I want to shine a new light, a modern, contemporary, and most importantly –– accurate light.
Rarely, if at all, do I see a proper depiction in the media of someone who looks like me. I’ve always had to force myself to relate to the people on the screen, rather than simply seeing someone like me and instantly connecting. Google “Muslim women” and the barrage of images that flood the screen is not only inaccurate, it is unsettling.
The lack of visual representation of women like me was the inspiration and driving force for creating the series “What A Muslim Woman Looks Like.” My goal in this series is to take back the narrative and diversify the portraits of Muslim women.
In each of my portraits, I want to use the power of images to shift people’s attitudes and beliefs. Each woman serves as the protagonist in her story. From football to medicine, each image projects a more authentic profile of what a Muslim woman looks like from their hopes and ambitions, to their struggles.
The paradox of this series is that there is actually no set definition of what a Muslim woman looks like. Each one is unique in their own way, and my goal is to capture as many as I can, empowering each one to tell their own story unique to them.
This is an ongoing series that I intend to work on for years to come.
