Image fionaaboud-1.jpg from the Sikhs- An American Portrait gallery

Sikhs in America- Artist Statement

I use photography to understand a subject's emotion in the particular context of their lives.

I try to exceed the temporal limits of photographing a single moment by experimenting with juxtaposing divergent visual elements, suggesting a subject's movement through alternative emotional worlds. I am currently working on a project about an American immigrant group whose traditions literally put their life in danger: American Sikhs.

Sikhs are a religious group predominately from Northern India whose traditions include Kesh, or uncut hair, which they traditionally wrap in a turban. With over 600,000 Sikh's in America, their lives changed dramatically after September 11th; the first hate crime in the US was the murder of a Sikh convenience store owner.

My photographs aim to follow what it is like to be Sikh in America as a microcosm of the tension felt by all Americans immigrants between assimilation and tradition.

By capturing Sikhs within traditional Americana environments, I draw out the viewer's expectation of what it means to be American and the human prejudice of physical differences. I spend significant time with each subject, learning about their own personal path within the American experience, and capture them as they live within their American element.

I think my pictures both give answers and ask questions through the positioning and emotion of the subject. How do the subjects feel about their role in their community? How do they respond to the pressures of hiding their religious identity in a hostile environment?

I photography my subjects so that they can showcase their identity, in a way that reveals where they fit in the tug of war between pride and retreat.

I am fascinated with the challenge and possible discomfort that a seemingly simple physical religious tradition such as Kesh can create within a community and the deeper questions it asks about the viewer, the wearer, and the interaction between the two. My images can force the viewer face their own preconceptions, and better yet, begin to transform the response to the unknown into the familiar. I think people's misconceptions form the root of many societal problems.

My hope is to open up a window of understanding through imagery. Photographs can make the viewer pause and consider how they view others, or bring a universal experience into focus.

sikhs-an-american-portrait: Sikhs in America- Artist Statement I use photography to understand a subject's emotion in the particular context of their lives. I try to exceed the temporal limits of photographing a single moment by experimenting with juxtaposing divergent visual elements, suggesting a subject's movement through alternative emotional worlds. I am currently working on a project about an American immigrant group whose traditions literally put their life in danger: American Sikhs. Sikhs are a religious group predominately from Northern India whose traditions include Kesh, or uncut hair, which they traditionally wrap in a turban. With over 600,000 Sikh's in America, their lives changed dramatically after September 11th; the first hate crime in the US was the murder of a Sikh convenience store owner. My photographs aim to follow what it is like to be Sikh in America as a microcosm of the tension felt by all Americans immigrants between assimilation and tradition. By capturing Sikhs within traditional Americana environments, I draw out the viewer's expectation of what it means to be American and the human prejudice of physical differences. I spend significant time with each subject, learning about their own personal path within the American experience, and capture them as they live within their American element. I think my pictures both give answers and ask questions through the positioning and emotion of the subject. How do the subjects feel about their role in their community? How do they respond to the pressures of hiding their religious identity in a hostile environment? I photography my subjects so that they can showcase their identity, in a way that reveals where they fit in the tug of war between pride and retreat. I am fascinated with the challenge and possible discomfort that a seemingly simple physical religious tradition such as Kesh can create within a community and the deeper questions it asks about the viewer, the wearer, and the interaction between the two. My images can force the viewer face their own preconceptions, and better yet, begin to transform the response to the unknown into the familiar. I think people's misconceptions form the root of many societal problems. My hope is to open up a window of understanding through imagery. Photographs can make the viewer pause and consider how they view others, or bring a universal experience into focus.