Ramak Bamzar: Moustachioed Women and Rhinoplastic Girls 29 June – 21 July Seventh Gallery, Melbourne Opening: Wednesday, 28 June – 6 to 8 pm. Seventh Gallery 215 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

Ramak Bamzar, Sarina, The day she became a woman. 2022. From Moustachioed Women and Rhinoplastic Girls series.Photograph. Pigment ink-jet print.50 cm x 70 cm. I consider this work an opening for Rhinoplastic Girls. Sarina - the most personal piece in the collection - was created with de Beauvoir's approach, refers to the circumstances and position of women from childhood under strict religious and theocracy regimes. The image is a recreation of my experience at the age of nine from the Obligation Ceremony, known as Jashn-e Taklif. A ceremony that formally celebrates girls' womanhood at the age of nine in Islamic countries. In this shot, using pink material and textiles, a playful, nurturing and nostalgic colour, I depict childhood, in which a girl wearing a white spiritual veil while holding a Barbie doll. My metaphorical considerations refer to my childhood in Iran, where I grew up under the theocracy of the Islamic Republic and was influenced by the ideologies of my religious dogma. This naive child knew nothing when you were constantly in school. TV and the street were talking about death, doomsday, woman, hijab, sin and the agony of hell.

Behind The Scenes. ramakbamzar.com

Ramak's desire to specialise in surreal photography has been driven by her interest in capturing the honesty of the way a woman looks and the beauty of the female spirit. In her new series, Ramak tells the story of feminine journey from pregnancy to birth. The very feeling of carrying a small soul, a little life inside a woman provides a new dimension to women’s beauty...

To coincide with her first Australian exhibition, Iran (held at ACP, 11 Apr - 7 Jun 2015), visiting Iranian artist Gohar Dashti joined a panel of Australian-based photographers and filmmakers, who share Persian heritage. In this discussion, we hear about contemporary image-making in and outside of Iran, touching on issues including exoticism, gender and the other. 3 MAY 2015 at ACP Panelists include Hoda Afshar Ramak Bamzar Gohar Dashti Amin Palangi

Festival Director Moshe Rosenzvieg provides a guided tour of the Main Hub exhibitions. For more Hub info including daily talks & workshops

Earth Bound | فرشته زمینی | By Ramak Bamzar | wwww.ramakbamzar.com.au | www.facebook.com/ramak.bamzar.photography