Female/Mirror/Culture
Top image: Sami
Bottom image: Jessie Rae
Photographic image 2019

The artist was exploring the questions around what is considered female identity and how do we use makeup to influence the ideas we have around identity?

Participants were asked by the artist to use their own makeup, to give Sehra a makeover in their own personal style that they would wear on a regular basis.
Each image is named after the woman who gave Sehra the makeover.
By keeping the same face for each of the images the viewer can see the impact makeup has on changing the way a person can look and how a person is interpreted.

The reasons to wear makeup are vast and the use of makeup can be traced back past the Ancient Egyptians.
By creating consistent images Sehra was hoping to get under the skin of these reasons and as to why we are compelled to cover parts of ourselves.
For many, by doing so they felt they were revealing their truer identity.

Counter to this there are some who choose to wear little or no makeup and the reasons for this act can be seen as a rebellion to an industry or culture, this however gives the world the same signals about the person’s identity as those who chose to wear makeup.

What was interesting is how each of the participants had very deep and personal reasons for why they presented themselves as they do; the complexity of these reasons are much deeper than a surface need to appear attractive.