ARTIST BIO
Yusra has been attending Havergal College since grade 9. She has always had a passion for photography- as it was a way for her to document memories. This is her first time bringing her interest in photography into a classroom. She wishes to continue documenting her experiences and further explore her interest in photography to a greater horizon.
YUSRA
ARTIST STATEMENT
ARTIST STATEMENT
The intent of my photographs are to provide an inside scope of various aspects of my life that contribute to my identity. When viewers see my photographs, they will experience an intimate scene of the complexity of my life as a teenager.
For Mom Dont Make Me Wear The Goggles, I interpreted this theme as having to do with Identity. Capturing an image of an area in my life that is important to my identity was accomplished by reflecting and deeply asking myself: “What makes me different from everyone around me?” My photographs address how everybody holds personal experiences, places, and ideas that have significance to them. These photographs provide an intimate lens into my life and what others don’t see when they meet me for the first time. One photograph that holds great significance to my identity is the scene of the prayer rug and Quran. As a Muslim teenager, prayer is something that I perceive as special and is a place and time where I get to escape worldly issues and contemplate about something greater. To achieve a sense of intimacy, I held the camera at stomach level to make the viewer feel that s/he is personally involved in the scene. As well, to achieve a sense of unity, I decided to have my images in black and white with a touch of colour in each photograph. Yasin Osman, a Toronto based documentary photographer has greatly influenced my style of photography. He captures images by having its subjects as the main point of view and even though it is very simple, it has a very intimate and meaningful impact when viewing the photographs. These photographs show an insight into my life: rituals, occasions, activities and objects that contribute to my uniqueness. Different aspects of my identity are presented in these photographs using the style of documentary photography.
For Mom Dont Make Me Wear The Goggles, I interpreted this theme as having to do with Identity. Capturing an image of an area in my life that is important to my identity was accomplished by reflecting and deeply asking myself: “What makes me different from everyone around me?” My photographs address how everybody holds personal experiences, places, and ideas that have significance to them. These photographs provide an intimate lens into my life and what others don’t see when they meet me for the first time. One photograph that holds great significance to my identity is the scene of the prayer rug and Quran. As a Muslim teenager, prayer is something that I perceive as special and is a place and time where I get to escape worldly issues and contemplate about something greater. To achieve a sense of intimacy, I held the camera at stomach level to make the viewer feel that s/he is personally involved in the scene. As well, to achieve a sense of unity, I decided to have my images in black and white with a touch of colour in each photograph. Yasin Osman, a Toronto based documentary photographer has greatly influenced my style of photography. He captures images by having its subjects as the main point of view and even though it is very simple, it has a very intimate and meaningful impact when viewing the photographs. These photographs show an insight into my life: rituals, occasions, activities and objects that contribute to my uniqueness. Different aspects of my identity are presented in these photographs using the style of documentary photography.