You are Not Alone!: An exhibition by Mina Momeni
12/28/07By Syma Sayyah, Tehran
Mina Momeni is one of Iran's most promising young women artist photographers who combines intellect, sorrow and the art of her time through her photographs of ladies. At her latest exhibition at the Elahe Gallery we met her and had a chance to talk to her.
Mina Momeni
What I found interesting about her works is that she combines the exploration of her art and her technical photo mastery on one hand and a new presentation of modern Iranian women - her exhibition theme - on the other.
Anahita
She titled the exhibition "You Are Not Alone!" This brings a sense of sisterhood and allows many to share that hidden fear of being alone and gives a gentle sense of warmth and togetherness.
Eblis
When I asked her why she chose this title she told me that modern woman is so lonely as she lives and works, even though she has a modern life and her inner self is fine. "I want to try to bring out the inner side of women, since there are plenty of choices to do just the face!"
Khorshid
In the introduction to the exhibition we read:
"From the ancient time till today's post modern world, a woman has been a complex creature and sometimes a sealed secret; a labyrinth who has once been a symbol of goodness and therefore praised; whereas, she has been treated as a demon and condemned of female subtlety and craftiness" , and it goes on to say "the tale of woman is an old one which has inspired the creation of numerous works of arts throughout centuries, a story interwoven with myths" .
Gol Bahar
She told me that she has been taking pictures for the past 13 years and even though she was awarded her diploma in painting and went to read the same at university, she then changed direction and took up her camera to become her brush. Her first camera was a Zenith, followed by a Nikon and she took the photos of this exhibition with her Canon Digital.
Mina Momeni has a preference for the color white and likes folk music as well as the new phenomena in Iranian music Mohsen Namjou (just like me). She likes historical books and has been most impressed by Krishnamurti since she read one of his books when she was 15.
She was born in June 1976, she is married and her husband is a graphic artist who gives her a lot of support in her work. She is happy where she is, and said that the world is a small village and borders are made up by those in power.
Shahrzad
We hope you will enjoy the samples of her works displayed here.
Elahe Gallery, 47, Golfam St., Africa St, Tehran +98 21 22054128
www.elahe.net