NPR
Do these photographs depict fiction, reality, or perhaps a blend of both?
One image features a bicyclist clad in a flowing burka that envelops her from head to ankles, confidently poised with her hands resting on the handlebars. Despite the veil restricting her vision, her determination resonates through the photograph's title, "It will not stand in my way."
Another figure, similarly attired, appears to soar through the air, her billowing garment giving the illusion of flight. Inscribed in Farsi on the brick wall behind her are the words, "I dreamed that my homeland was prosperous."
A third portrayal shows a woman draped in a burka, artfully posing with an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder like a violin, using a long wooden stick as a bow. This piece is aptly titled "The Music of Poverty and Violence."
About the Photographers
These compelling black-and-white photographs are the creation of two Afghan cousins, who prefer to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential repercussions from the Taliban for their work. They use the pseudonyms Mahnaz Ebrahimi (born in 2000) and Somayeh Ebrahimi (born in 2001). Residing in a rural Afghan mountain farming village, they belong to the Hazara ethnic group and identify as Shia Muslims. Previously engaged as carpet weavers in Kabul, they fled when the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021, seeking to escape the oppressive environment sanctioned by the regime's ultra-conservative Sunni laws.
Neither cousin had formal photography training when they began capturing images on their cellphones around 2022. Edith Arance, a curator and gallery director based in Madrid, discovered their work on Instagram and was captivated by how they skillfully intertwined their harsh realities with messages that ranged from poetic to political.
"I have some familiarity with Farsi [the Persian language], which allowed me to connect with them," she explained. The cousins and Arance established their collaboration through Instagram. In November 2024, Arance showcased their work at her Galería Sura in Madrid, a gallery dedicated to emerging photographers from Southwest Asia and Africa.
Auto-Fiction and Magic Realism
The photographs, encapsulating both the starkness of the cousins' current circumstances and their aspirations for a brighter future, are currently exhibited through May 30 at the Photoville Festival in Brooklyn, New York. Arance refers to their work as auto-fiction, a literary concept intertwining autobiography and fiction. Although the images are rooted in the autobiographical experiences of the individuals depicted, their postures and interactions with their environment evoke deeper dreams and aspirations, revealing themselves through the lens.
For Arance, the interplay of light and shadow, alongside symbolic elements like trees, leaves, plants, and butterflies, evokes the narrative style known as magic realism. The captions and accompanying poems are authored by the cousins and translated by Arance.
Notable Images
In "Life Is Today," a young girl is portrayed dancing upon a desolate ridge that overlooks snow-capped mountains. Arance remarks, "There's a sense of play that should not seem out of place. Yet this is Afghanistan, and the girl is unburdened by a veil or burka; she is simply embracing her freedom. Her shadow resembles an airplane soaring away."
Other images similarly interrogate the severely restricted existence of women under Taliban rule.
In "Liberation," a woman stands with her back to the camera, revealing decorative elements in her hair—prohibited by the Taliban—as she tosses her burka into the air. Accompanying her image, Mahnaz Ebrahimi's poem states, "In the name of being a woman,/today I will free myself from oppression/and darkness to the breeze/to the height of the sky."
"Girl by the Door" exemplifies contrasts in light and shadow. A girl clutches a worn schoolbook while standing with half her face obscured by a pale wooden door secured with multiple chains, the other half illuminated against a dark backdrop.
Mahnaz's commentary reflects the symbolism present: "The image here is rich with meaning. Following the enforcement of a new law prohibiting education for girls after sixth grade, many girls risked their lives to attend school. Attacks targeted these families to discourage sending daughters to class throughout 2022. Light symbolizes knowledge and life that reside beyond this threshold, while darkness represents the confined domestic space imposed upon girls and women."
The tension between confinement and liberation is poignantly illustrated in a photograph of a young girl wearing sunglasses and laughing joyously, titled "When Will We Laugh From the Bottom of Our Hearts Again?" However, youthful joy is still found in "Autumn Games," in which three young girls joyfully toss leaves skyward.
The collection poses inquiries about further restrictions faced by girls and women. "Vestiges of the Present" depicts a woman, only visible from the shoulders down and adorned in vibrant attire, holding a boombox. Her stillness implies silence, as the caption reminds viewers that "music, dancing, and singing are prohibited for women in public [in Afghanistan]."
In another poignant outdoor scene, a young girl cowers as an unseen gunman directs a rifle at her, yet she clings to a school notebook featuring a Farsi message that reads, "There is no justice," highlighting the constraints placed on girls' educational access.
Messages of Hope
Collectively, Arance notes that the photos proclaim, "The Taliban
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