Sisterly relationships
Photographer Nadirah Zakariya captures the special bond between sisters in her latest solo show.
WHEN Nadirah Zakariya describes Girlhood as a “very personal project”, she really means it. The sisterhood theme, which was first explored in Daughters Ago, her first photography solo show in New York in 2011, and then expanded upon in Girlhood, her second solo currently running in Kuala Lumpur, is one that resonates deeply with her.
When she talks about these images and the emotions she associates with them, it sounds very much like it is a love letter to all sisters out there.
And really, anyone who has, at some point in their lives, forged a bond with another.
Having spent several years abroad, Nadirah found herself feeling a deep connection to other siblings or close friends whenever she was away from home and familiar faces.
“I missed being with my family, but at the same time, I had all these amazing friends in New York who were sort of like sisters to me, that I grew with all those years I was away,” she relates of her time spent pursuing her art abroad.
Nadirah, who has three sisters, studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts, majoring in photography.
Her first show, Daughters Ago, explored the idea of such a kinship, a general skimming of the sisterhood theme that Nadirah holds near and dear to her heart, through a film photography series.
Fast forward five years to Malaysia, and Girlhood adds another layer of sisterly endearments to the theme that she plans on developing further in the future.
“There’s just this bond between sisters that I am intrigued about and feel connected to. It is different from the kind of bond you have with friends or anyone else, it is kind of hard to put it into words,” says the 32- year- old who has had her works published in magazines such as The New York Magazine, Bullett Magazine, Nylon, Vice and South Korea’s Dazed & Confused.
She is now based in Kuala Lumpur.
It was her reflection on her relationship with her siblings, and that with others, was what ended up being the driving force behind the project.
In this selection of 12 images, about six groups of sisters – ranging from toddlers to women in their late 20s – are the focus of this body of work. Captured with the Leica T Camera System, they were shot over a duration of two months ( in April and May) this year.
The images in Girlhood are new and have never been shown before.
“I even included twins in this project because I have always been fascinated by them, I have always wanted to be a twin myself!” she confides.
She also adds that she would love to bring the exhibition to other parts of the country and beyond, like an ongoing travelling show.
Having previously worked with Leica on other projects, Nadirah, who discovered photography ( with a compact camera borrowed from her mum) at the age of 17 during a student exchange programme in Japan, says that it was a “no- brainer” working with them again when they approached her and asked if she would be interested in doing an exhibition with them.
“They gave me full creativity on what to shoot, and after thinking over different themes, I felt that this idea of sisterhood was something that I definitely want to continue to explore,” she says.
Girlhood delves into the everyday nuances of such familial ties, a journey into the comfortable space of trust, warmth and familiarity, and that little something that Nadirah can’t quite put into words.
So she tells her stories through photographs.
“Many of the images in Girlhood are nostalgic and reminiscent of childhood memories, like staying up past your bedtime, or reading story books together, basically creating your own little bubble where it is just you and your sister ...” she muses.
Girlhood might look very different from Daughters Ago ( for instance, the colours in Girlhood are “sharper and clearer”), but to Nadirah, it is just the next chapter in the same book.
“I would not say they are the same aesthetically, but emotionally, they are on the same level. I am still the same person photograph- ing it, through the same eyes, through the same heart, and with the same direction,” she declares.
And that, to her, is one of the most interesting things about photography: that more important than what camera you use, is how one approaches the photography and what your intention is. And Girlhood? It is a labour of love which she dedicates to her sisters.
“I shoot from the heart and I would love if the viewer can feel that. I think it is important that my work evokes an emotion, any emotion! As long as they feel something, I am happy,” says Nadirah.
“Because ultimately, I just want to share something that I care deeply about with the public – my photographs, my projects, my passion.”
Girlhood is on at Leica Store@ Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur, for the whole month of June. The official printer for Girlhood is Framed Moments ( www.framedmoments.com.my). Opening hours: 10am- 10pm. Call 03- 02164 1818 or visit www.leicastore.com. my or nadirahzakariya.com for more info.