Amak Mahmoodian Interview: Aesthetica Magazine

Amak Mahmoodian (b.1980) is an Iranian photographer, filmmaker and curator living in the UK, whose work questions identity. Her latest series, Shenasnemeh, is on display this month as part of Diffusion Festival at Ffotogallery, Cardiff, looking at the deeper complexities of identity, personhood and an intersection between the personal with the universal. “Shenasnameh” is the name of the official Iranian Birth Certificate. It is valid for life, but the photograph which it contains must be updated according to the standards. For a woman in Iran, the making of this photograph is a personally charged affair; her hair must be covered in keeping with official standards, and any excess of make-up will be met with official disapproval.