Light Breaks the Darkness: An Interview with Rania Matar, Part 2

(Read Part 1 of the interview)

Recently, Rania turned her lens to that most personal of spaces:  the teenage girl’s bedroom.  Like her photographs of the Middle East, these photographs capture metamorphoses.  Remarkably individual, defiant yet unsure, each girl shares her space and, as a result, herself.  Adolescence is often marked by internal wars and external impenetrability; Rania captures both.

The series A Girl in Her Room takes me back about 15 years to my own room.   I think I spent more time, between the ages of 12 to 18, in my bedroom than I did anywhere else, collectively. What is it about American girls and their rooms?  How did you begin this project and find girls willing to pose for you?

I have watched with awe the passage of my teenage daughter from girlhood into adulthood, with all the complications that it entails.  As I observed her and her girlfriends I became fascinated with the transformation taking place, with the adult personalities taking shape and with the insecurity and  self-consciousness that are replacing the carefree world the girls had lived in thus far.  I originally started photographing them in group situations but quickly realized that they were so aware of each other’s presence that being in a group affected how they portrayed themselves.  I also realized that under their air of self-assurance the girls were often very fragile, self-conscious and confused.

From there, the idea of photographing each girl alone emerged.  I originally let the girls choose the place of their choice and was slowly welcomed into their own private space: their bedrooms.

The room invariably reflects the girl’s personality.  It is the one place a girl does not have to feel self-conscious, the place she can surround herself with whatever matters to her alone, and the place where she can be fully herself.   I spent some time with each girl so she was fully comfortable with me around and was able to let her guard down, free of any preconception of what she would like to portray.  I was fascinated to discover a person on the edge between two worlds:  she’s on the cusp of becoming an adult but she’s desperately holding on to the child she barely left behind.  Posters of rock stars were often displayed above a bed still covered with stuffed animals; mirrors were always an important part of the room, a reflection of the girls’ image to the outside world.

As for finding the subjects, I am at the perfect time of my life to reach this age group.  I have a teenage daughter and friends with teenage daughters; from here the circle keeps expanding.  I have photographed over 125 girls so far and I don’t feel like this project is near being done yet.  I am now looking to expand into more varied cultural, economic and geographic backgrounds.

How do you approach your subjects and establish trust?  You document intimate moments – a day at the beauty parlor, a mother breastfeeding her baby, teenagers primping before a mirror – is it a long process to establish that comfort level? Does the experience differ from the US in Lebanon?

In the camps, I started working with local NGOs (non governmental organizations) and they introduced me to families.  From there I had to earn the trust on my own. In the Middle East people are extremely welcoming and hospitable. I spent time with families, met their children, listened to their stories, had the required cup of coffee (and it is strong!), etc.  I was interested in their stories and they sensed that I was not there to abuse the situation.  I visit a few families regularly and I always make a point to bring them photos.  I found people just want to be treated with respect, and if you treat people decently, they are usually pretty trusting. Once you earn their trust, it is important to respect your boundaries.  People often forgot about the camera and I was able to photograph life going on as normally as possible.  But I also had to learn when to put the camera away.  For instance, if a woman is usually veiled, she could be unveiled around me but I knew I couldn’t take her photo, no matter how much I would have liked to.

I found that in some ways it is easier photographing in the Middle East, especially in a public place.  In more intimate situations, in the ME, people just rely on trust.  In the US, I always ask for a model release.  This is a technical aspect; on the personal level, once I am with people and photographing them things are the same.  Then it is a matter of a personal relationship.

In the context of both series of photographs, I wonder how much of our space is defined by who we are and how much is defined by who we want to be and how we want to see ourselves.  In the war photos, the people seem defiant in the face of external upheaval – they refuse to let the destruction define them – while in the bedroom series the girls seem defiant in the face of internal upheaval.  Is this an accurate impression?

I am not sure how to answer this.  The environment definitely affects who we are.  People in the refugee camps, and in the aftermath of war are very much defined by the conditions they have lived in. Their defiance in the face the world is obvious in their resilience, their holding on to their dignity and their humanity, and their will to carry on and provide a decent life for their kids.  It is most definitely defiance to their surrounding, to the politics of the area, and their need to survive and overcome it all.

I never thought about it in those terms but on some levels the teenage girls are somewhat going through that, on a different level.  They are learning to come to terms with the transition from being a little girl to an adult woman.  They are often defiant as a means of expressing themselves: they are confused, they are lost, they are self-conscious, but they would rarely admit to themselves that they are going through all those feelings.  Many need to rebel against all the set rules and prove their independence.  As a result, some girls get tattoos, some piercings, some take up smoking, some color their hair, other will wear the veil, and other will create a bedroom that is a bubble and the world they invent for themselves.

Do you have any favourite stories or encounters from your photography?

I have many great stories.  My favorite is the story that created the image on the cover of the book.  It was in September of 2006, right after the 2006 war and I was in the Haret Hreik suburb of Beirut.  Many buildings were very heavily damaged and inaccessible so there was a wrecking ball destroying them.  People who lived in the buildings prior to the bombings spent their day waiting for the building to finally collapse so they could look for their belongings in the rubble. (Image below.)

I was fascinated by the resilience, friendliness and trust of these people.   Waiting for the buildings to collapse became a family and neighborhood event to which I was welcomed.  People would wait together all day in a relaxed atmosphere.  Their home was about to collapse to the ground, but they were ready to start over.  I picked the image for the cover because it summarizes everything about Lebanon to me: the little girl wearing the Barbie T-shirt, the fact that she is facing forward as if she is rising from the rubble and embracing life instead of the death and the destruction behind her, and the fact that she brought a smile to her mother’s face despite the fact that this family lost their home.

I have many beautiful stories.  I was fortunate to meet beautiful people.  I always go back and visit the people I photograph (or as much as possible).  I bring them back photographs.  One time an older lady looked at the photo and was horrified that it was in black and white and that she wasn’t looking at the camera!  I have since learned to take snapshots to bring back to them as snapshot-style shots are the photos they want.

Who / what are some of your creative inspirations

I learned a lot from books.  I collect photography books and love the feel, the smell and the look of them.  It was my ultimate goal to have my own book – it was like having another child.  I learned a lot from Costa Manos, who was a mentor who taught me to stick around to always take the best possible picture.

I love and was influenced by many photographers who each affected me in different ways:  Robert Frank, Josef Koudelka, Henri Cartier Bresson, Sally Mann.  I also love painting and did quite a bit of my own in college.  I love Picasso and all the Impressionists.  They definitely influenced my photography on some level.  My training in architecture is second nature in how I see things: light, texture, space, really everything!

The Yell Softly Questions:

What are your necessities?

My family, my camera, my yoga, my friends and humor in my life.

Nothing smells better than . . . my kids when they walk out of a shower.

Nothing tastes better than. . . chocolate.

Nothing feels better than. . . a bear hug.

I’d rather laugh than worry.

If you could jump into any painting, à la Mary Poppins, which would you choose?

A Monet painting.

Rania’s work and monograph can be purchased here. Please do not reproduce any of these images without contacting Rania for permission.  Again, many thanks to Rania for sharing her work and ideas with us.