Born in Nottingham to a Swiss, Italian mother & German, Parsi (Iranian-Indian) father, I spent my formative years in Birmingham and am currently based in London. My care-centred approach informs the tenderness with which I approach portrait sitters.
Foundations
In 2011, I returned to Birmingham after graduating from Manchester School of Art. That summer I was deeply moved by the five days of uprisings across England which took place in the second week of August, in response to Mark Duggan's murder at the hands of the police. I proceeded to photograph Birmingham: intentionally highlighting global majority communities to counteract and confront negative, dehumanising, anti-Blackness and islamaphobia; which continue to dominate mainstream media.
Windrush
2023 marks ten years of working with pioneers of the Windrush Generation and five years of working in partnership with the National Health Service. In 2013 I began to co-create portraits of war veterans, which resulted in debut, self-initiated solo exhibition: ‘West Indies to West Midlands’ (2014-2015). Subsequently, In 2018, I was commissioned by the NHS to photograph nurses and healthcare professionals and produce an accompanying oral history archive. After touring ‘Here To Stay’ to fifteen locations across London, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, the portrait remain on permanent display at West Bromwich Education Centre. More recently, I organised one of three panel discussions to create a safe space for portrait sitters to share their lived experiences, following a solo exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
International
Outside of the UK, I have independently photographed daily life in Palestine (2011), Dubai & Abu Dhabi (2012). In 2016 a debut feature length documentary was screened in Cape Town, Soweto and Johannesburg (South Africa). In 2017, I was commissioned to work on an international project funded by the British Council and produced in partnership with Delhi Photo Festival. In 2018, I curated, edited photobook ‘Várzea‘ and distributed in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte (Brazil).
London
In 2024 I am continuing to work on self-initiated projects centred on social justice, presently advocating workers’ rights to rest and fair pay and safety.