The Open Self, 2018
Digital Photographic Print on Epson Enhanced Matt Paper and Aluminium Kappa Board, 42 cm x 59.4 cm
For my mother, the headscarf was, and still is, used as a tool to portray a modest public image. The scarf hides her true self, one of strength, confidence and at times even vulgarity.
The flowers upon the headscarf are tainted with vulgar, humorous phrases of a sexual nature, which were commonly used by her mother in her mother-tongue- Mirpuri. The texts in combination with her stance unveil the hidden identity and so the scarf no longer promotes modesty. For example, the main text reads ‘have you been sat there all that time plucking your fanny hair?’ which depicts the mothers’ true self, hidden beneath false humility.