Hooyo

The concept for these images came from a personal place. Growing up in a Somali household, religion has always played a vital role in my upbringing and life. As a Muslim, growing up and navigating through western society was not always easy, as my religion was constantly portrayed in a negative light by the media which in turn influenced the perception of the masses. Throughout Europe, there have been multiple cases of violence against the Muslim populace and even laws preventing Muslim women from exercising their religion, in this case, the burqa ban in France. For this personal project, I decided to take matters into my own hands and change the negative image that has been portrayed by the media. By using my own mother as a source of inspiration and a muse, I created this portrait series to show the different sides and layers of Muslim women under the veil through working with different traditional Somali fabrics which highlight the elegant yet quirky side of my mother, while still paying attention to the vulnerability and sensitivity of the social matter.