Women United ART PRIZE 2023
Photography & Printmaking Category
finalist
ARTIST BIO
Maryam is a 25-year old Iranian photographer who started photography at the age of 19 by passing introductory courses under the supervision of some of the best photographers in Iran. After completing that course, she learned digital editing and filmmaking and got familiar with storytelling and photojournalism while participating in some masterclass courses. Considering her personal interest in street photography and even more documentaries, she chose to continue the documentary genre professionally and participated in several group documentary projects and exhibitions. Maryam currently works on personal projects bringing forward all her acquired knowledge and skills.
ARTIST STATEMENT
No one knows exactly where the Bakhtiari people came from before settling in the Zagros Mountains. But over the past several thousand years, their roots have grown deep into this land — in what is now western and southwestern Iran — alongside the native oak trees that serve as a vital source of their sustenance. In the face of modern forces, they're standing their ground.
Bakhtiari's are the one of largest and most famous tribal confederacies in Iran.
They live in towns, villages, and nomadic territories of the central parts of the lofty Zagros Mountain range; Chahar Mahal-o-Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Lorestan, and Isfahan province.
The nomad women are dominant in all political, social, and economic decisions of the tribe. They play an important role in the decisions of the tribe.
Iran’s more than one million nomads have long resisted modernity through the isolation that comes with their lifestyle. Now the combination of persistent drought, dust storms that turn the skies orange, widespread urbanization, the coming of mobile phones and limited access to the internet besides the decorated face of modern life in big cities, and the spread of higher education impacted the future of nomadic people's culture heavily and has made their numbers dwindle.
As the number of nomads has fallen, the strongest advocates of settling down have been the nomadic women. Their lives are tough, and they know it.
Despite that complicated situation and conflict between melting down with coming changes or resisting and choosing what has been going on for thousands of years, I have always been inspired by Bakhtiari’s men’s and women's lifestyles. The simplicity in daily life and in behavior, and colorful when it comes to celebrating and costume dresses reflect the beauty of their nature.
Shahrekord / Iran
