Kiana Hayeri – part 1

The old adage that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is never truer than when a photograph takes us into the heart of another culture and tells the story of a person who inhabits a world which is very different from our own.  For me, this is the real power of Kiana Hayeri’s insightful work.  Kiana is, of course, the winner of the Guernsey Photography Festival International Competition 2011.  I was lucky enough to interview this young photographer, who grew up in Iran and moved to Canada in 2005 to pursue her post-secondary education.  In this, the first of two posts about Kiana, the focus is on her cultural background and how this is portrayed in her photographs.

May God be with you, my daughter explores the emotional journeys of Iranian teenage girls as they leave their home country in hope of a better future.  In the following image, Parastou’s mother dozes in bed after receiving a call from the Australian Embassy to say her daughter’s visa has been approved.  Parastou is now in Sydney and Kiana will visit her in January.

It was this project which so impressed the Guernsey Photography Festival judging panel.  Judge John O’Neill of OPA elaborates:  ‘The glimpses into a family story telling that of a new life, the making of friends and the sheer beauty that comes with the liberation at the end of this series made Kiana’s work a clear and well-deserved winner of the 2011 prize.’

Kiana’s ongoing project, Your veil is a battleground, tackles the dichotomy between how Iranian youths are expected to conduct themselves and their desire to push these boundaries.  Kiana explains:  ‘In Iran, there are a lot of restrictions about how you dress and how you interact with the opposite sex.  I started following these girls who are always trying to push their head scarves back a little bit, or put on a bit more makeup.  The whole summer I was in Iran, I was working on this project.  For me, it was very nerve-racking.  Morality police were marching through the streets, but the girls were pretty relaxed.  They’re always risking being fined, being detained for a day or two, or sometimes even being lashed.’

Kiana uses her photography to tell stories, her own and others who need their stories to be told.  ‘Obviously Iran and its culture have played a big role in who I am or where I am right now and it is somehow reflected in the work that I do,’ she says.  I asked Kiana whether she felt that people’s perception of Iran was wrong, and therefore felt a need to set the record straight:  ‘Yes, there are a lot of false concepts about Iran and Iranians.  Most images that came out of Iran prior to the presidential election in 2009 were pictures of women covered in black chador and men with long beards.  Iran and its culture is much more complex and deeper than what has been portrayed so far.’

In this image, ‘The two men at the doorway are Shayesteh’s brothers.  She argues with her ‘over-protective’ brothers over the outfit she had chosen to wear for her birthday party.’

Kiana sums up the impact of her work beautifully:  ‘I don’t believe that the world can be changed with one photograph, but I do believe as a photographer, I am able to impact individuals. It all happens in small and quiet ways that we don’t always see.’

Next time I’ll be focusing on how Kiana got into photography and looking ahead to her Journey Festival commission, for which she will be travelling to Iran in order to document the daily lives of young girls.
www.kianahayeri.com

 

Q&A with Jocelyn Allen

 

Welcome to the Guernsey Photography Festival Blog!  We’re already looking ahead to the 2012 Festival, which will take place from Thursday 24th May until Friday 22nd June.  My name is Caroline and I’m looking forward to bringing you lots of interesting features on all things photographic over the coming months and, of course, during the Festival itself.  Your comments and suggestions would be much appreciated, whether you’re a photographer, keen amateur or simply an admirer of great photography.

What better person to kick off the 2012 blog than Jocelyn Allen, worthy winner of the Guernsey Photography Festival ‘Identity’ competition?  Jocelyn was commissioned to do One is Not Like the Other as part of her prize and it was fascinating:  she photographed her closest relatives then presented them alongside portraits of herself wearing their clothes and imitating their poses.  It really made me reflect on what makes us individual, and Jocelyn’s presence gives her work a continuity and personality which I find very engaging.  I also love the quirky titles of her projects!  It was great to catch up with Jocelyn and find out more about this emerging talent and her latest work.

How did you get interested in photography from such a young age?
My parents gave me a 35mm camera very early on.  I recently found a photobook that I made when I was 7; it was mostly pictures of my family, some landscapes on holiday and then pictures of my cuddly toys and bedroom.

When did you decide to follow a career in photography and were your family supportive of you trying to break into something so competitive?
I used to be very academic at school, but I suddenly got very bored and couldn’t decide on 4 A-Levels, so I decided to do a BTEC in Photography instead.  I was scared to tell my parents, but they were fine with it.  We all know it’s competitive, but I think every career is these days.  I wouldn’t really say I have a career in it yet, but I’d rather be trying to pursue it than looking back in regret in thirty years and saying ‘I wish I’d tried’.

What difference did winning the Guernsey Photography Festival make to you?
I found out that I had won two weeks before finishing my degree.  I was starting to get worried about graduating, but winning the competition was a big affirmation that I was doing the right thing and helped a lot with my confidence.  My graduate project, Reality of Youth Going Backwards in Vain, had been very personal and I found it hard at times during the making of it, so it felt great that people liked it that much.  Career-wise, One is Not Like the Other has definitely helped me get my name around the internet, resulting in website visits from 100 countries and all states of America.

Can you tell me about your visit to Guernsey during the Festival?
Yes, I was there for quite a few days:  I saw all of the exhibits, which were great, and I got to hang out with the other photographers and people involved with the Festival.  There was a really good atmosphere and the people who run the Festival make a great team and they are most hospitable.

Guernsey is an ideal place for a Photography Festival because it’s really beautiful and it’s like going abroad, but it’s close to home, quick to get there, better weather and you don’t need to change your money.  There are loads of great venues to show work, but they also think outside of the box so there are other lovely places where you can see work – like Samuel Fosso in the Sunken Gardens.

What are your latest projects?
I’m working on various things at the moment.  One is a project made up of many smaller elements about what aliens would document if they landed on Earth.  I’ve recently finished the opening sequence Double You Tee Eff, which is on my website and I’m working on stage two at the moment which is after they have just ‘landed’.

I’m also working on a self-portrait project that will last for 49 weeks.  At the moment I am on week 22 and it involves taking one picture a day of myself and overlaying the images.  From those I am trying to create a ‘truer’ representation of myself.  Every week I overlay the 7 images, then every 7 weeks I overlay those images.  The project is entitled The Many Faces of JFA.  I’m also currently experimenting a photograph/video, but it’s in the very early stages at the moment and I’m thinking I need to wait till I can afford a better video device.

I’m hoping to feature Kiana Hayeri, the 2011 competition winner, soon – have you seen any of her work and is there a message you’d like to pass on to her?
Yes I checked out her website when I heard she had won – I’m looking forward to seeing what she does for the Festival.  I’d just say to her ‘enjoy the opportunity, have fun with it and take some great pictures!’

To see more of Jocelyn’s work, go to www.jocelynallen.co.uk