“Real Me” is a research-based project that began with a series of interviews with individuals living with Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss, with no other visible physical symptoms. This project explores how the mere presence or absence of hair can profoundly shape one’s sense of identity, mental well-being, and daily life.
Along this path, the participants, with unfiltered honesty, challenged common stereotypes and assumptions. For three of them, it was the first time they stood in front of the camera without a wig.
Their studio portraits are juxtaposed with images of Iran’s untouched landscapes, photographs captured over different years. For me, this coexistence is a metaphor for the experience of being oneself, an unaltered presence, just as nature, with all its beauty and scars, continues its embodiment and survival.
