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Dona Paranayil
Saudi Gazette
Abeer Bajandouh is a 27-year-old Saudi freelance photographer and educator from Jeddah. She teaches photography at Nafisa Shams Academy in Jeddah and is currently working on a project for the upcoming Jeddah Art Week Show that takes place on February 1-9, next month.
Her previous works were exhibited at various venues and events across the country and in London. While pursuing education in the UK, she published a book “Saudi Women’s Lives Inside The United Kingdom”.
Bajandouh studied Bachelor in Journalism at King Abdul-Aziz University, and went on to pursue her masters in photography from Kingston University in London in 2013.
“In photography I intend to share people’s stories, focusing on exploring themes of identity and immigration. My photography sheds light on the relationship between Western and Arabic culture,” she told Saudi Gazette.
SG: How long have you been shooting? Did you struggle to become a photographer?
AB: I have been shooting for almost seven years. Without struggle, there is no progress. Being a Saudi woman of course, I have faced difficulties for choosing a career path that women in Saudi Arabia are not expected to consider.
SG: Where did you find your inspiration?
AB: People fascinate me. People are unique because God created them in this image.
SG: What is a photographer to you? How would you define a photograph?
AB: A photographer for me is a storyteller. Photographs can serve different functions depending on how the photographers use them. The photographic image has the ability to capture, or to explore situations as well as show emotions of humans or even places. Photographs make us look and pay attention to things in new ways. In other words, they engage us.
SG: What do you love about photography?
AB: What captivates me about photography is its ability to help people to see the details, notice the beauty around us and truly live in the present. Photography on the other hand, gives you the ability to express yourself—your opinions and beliefs. You do this by choosing what you photograph, and how you represent it.
SG: What are the elements that interest you in photography? What is your style?
AB: What interests me the most about photography is its use in exploring different social issues and areas of experience that might be difficult to access using words alone. In terms of my style, I would describe it as a documentary style.
SG: What are the subjects that interest you?
AB: I am interested in people as subjects and their stories inspire me to hold the camera and to start to take photographs.
SG: What story do you want your photographs to convey?
AB: The stories that I would like to convey are the stories of humanity, stories that provide wisdom about the journey of life.
SG: Can you talk about your projects and exhibitions in a nutshell?
AB: Currently I am working on a photography project about “Western Women’s Journeys in Saudi Arabia” for the upcoming Jeddah Art Week Show. The project is an investigation into the fascinating stories behind twelve Western women residing in Saudi Arabia.
SG: Can you talk about your book “Saudi Women’s Lives Inside The United Kingdom” briefly?
AB: The book is about the lives of Saudi women in the United Kingdom. My camera was my visual diary in this journey; the photographs looked into the relationship between women and their places as well as their personal belongings. I believe photographing their spaces and their natural surroundings enabled me to express their characters, and therefore portray the aspects of their personalities. My background in journalism is somewhere embedded in the process, due the photographs being coded; I combined the photographs and the interviews, which can ideally express the idea of this book, which is about identity and immigration.
SG: Why have you mixed photos with a poem in your previous project “Where I Come From”?
AB: Having lived in northwest London, I was taught a lot about the Arab community in the UK. That has encouraged and inspired me to do a project about them. The project “Where I Come From” is about the Arab community in London, located in northwest London around Edward Road. The project consists of seven series of photographs and a poem. The poem is about voices I heard that moved me and encouraged me to pick up the pen and to write. Combining poetry and photography makes it easier to express the idea of the project, which is about expatriation.
SG: What type of camera/equipment do you use?
AB: It depends on the project I am working on, if I need to shoot in film or digital. Most of the time, I use full-frame digital camera, Canon 5D Mark lll, which offers rich colors and captures the movements. In terms of lighting, I prefer the daylight, which plays a huge role in bringing the atmosphere of the places.
SG: Do you think it is the camera or skills one should have to shoot pictures?
AB: The camera is just a box, it photographs things as it appears in the viewfinder, the photographer is the one who takes the pictures and expands the field of vision.
SG: How do you teach photography in KSA where taking pictures publicly can be difficult?
AB: We are facing some difficulties in terms of shooting outdoors, but things are getting better, people are accepting photography in public places more than before. However, still a lot needs to be done in this case.
SG: What are your views on the Arab photography scene in KSA and the UK?
AB: Speaking of female artists, I think the photographic representation of women has changed, especially in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia. In the last few years, many female artists from the Middle East are bringing a female perspective on the Middle Eastern world, presenting work that aims to bring about positive social change through photography. In the other words, photography can be read as a medium that empowers women.
SG: What are your main goals as a photographer?
AB: Photography is not about showing materialism as we might have seen nowadays in the social media, as well as it is not always about taking beautiful photographs, it is more about representing meaningful photographs that can make a difference and enhance the understanding of the human condition.
SG: What is your advice to young Saudis who want to pursue a career in photography?
AB: Your photography reflects your personality, and everyone has a sense of originality, so know your strength and be original, because who you are determines the photographs you make and if you make photographs that are meaningful to you there’s a chance they’ll be meaningful to others. Most importantly is education, knowledge is power, history is filled with incredible photographers, the more you learn about photography, the more you appreciate it.
Instagram: @Abeer.bjn
