Cherine Fahd
“Through photography I am able to explore and capture intimate moments of human expression when an individual seems to have forgotten him or herself, where although they are in a public space they are physical and emotional in a way that is usually saved for more private moments. I am interested in how people encounter public spaces and how the space constitutes each person in and by their relationship to themselves, to others around them and to the scene itself.
To be oneself in front of the camera is difficult; the presence of a camera seems to want to change us. But to be in front of a camera without the knowledge that you are is altogether different. When shooting I notice that people behave differently when they know I am there. They stiffen and something ‘real’ is lost. As the photographer, I have to be invisible; I can’t let them see me seeing them. It is this difference between knowing you are being photographed and not knowing, that is documented in my work – moments, feelings & expression, existing, without the awareness or interruption of the camera…
…The images also explore the interplay between everyday reality and a reconstruction of that reality through photography. This reconstruction is achieved by and within selected images; certain actions and expressions are repeated, reinforcing the peculiarity of these actions and the strangeness of the scene. There is no narrative to indicate to the viewer what or why the person is looking, gesturing, experiencing, and communicating this way. The person is presented frozen, a moment extracted, highlighted and exaggerated by the repetition of a series.
When studying each image I wonder why I have chosen that particular moment, that particular expression out of the multitude of moments and expressions that present themselves at the scene…”
(Cherine Fahd 2006)
