A new exhibition by photographer Lana Slezic opens tonight at Gulf Photo Plus.
Inspired by a local photographer's old box camera in a Kabul market, Slezic began capturing this extraordinary series of photographs portraying Afghan women and girls – a subject she had focused on one year prior in her book project, Forsaken in 2007.
Slezic's first encounter with Afghanistan in 2004 was a six-week assignment with Canadian Geographic. Captivated particularly by the Afghani women she met, she felt compelled to extend her stay for what became two years in Afghanistan, photographing women throughout the country. Her book Forsaken aims to connect in a very intimate way with the troubling state of existence that many women face in Afghanistan, allowing their stories to be brought to light through her photographs.
A year after leaving Afghanistan, Slezic returned with a different photographic series in mind. A Window Inside focuses on the strength and beauty of these women despite their hardship. Shooting through the glass plate of an Afghan box camera, her subjects are highlighted by a soft halo of light that gradually radiates outwards into the darkness of the surrounding camera box. Characterized by the unique texture of the flawed glass, the images become a painterly tribute to the beauty of her subjects.
The series of portraits aims to show the beautiful women that they are without undermining the circumstances in which they live. In 2008, Slezic won a World Press Photo Award for this series.
On display at the Gulf Photo Plus gallery space, the show will be open to the public from September 10 through to October 25, 2012.
For more information go to www.gulfphotoplus.com
