Identity - هوية

Who is Norah ? and what's her story ?
When I thought about this question first thing came to my mind is where do I belong.
I'm a Saudi student who's based in Brooklyn,
I was born and raised on the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia.

I decided to undertake a photography project that reflects my cultural heritage, to tell my story. Although living away from my family and loved ones can be challenging, I believe that choosing Brooklyn to pursue my higher education was a successful decision.
I sought to discover the similarities between my hometown of Khobar and Brooklyn, such as they are both costal cities and the diverse communities. I believe that nothing can replace the memories, experiences and home, but Brooklyn has made it easier for me to feel like I'm at home. For me, home is more than just a physical residence, it encompasses the land, songs, cuisine, culture, and heritage that define my identity. Regardless of distance, these elements continue to influence my actions, observations, and language. Therefore, I am creating a project that showcases my cultural heritage and identity.

I began a series called "Ghishwah" a while back. It refers to the headscarf or "hijab" in the language of older people from my area.
My grandmother used to say "1 وين غشوتي ?" or "2 بتغشى." I noticed that I often captured the action of covering half the face, so I decided to create an open series on this topic. As part of my " It's an Identity " project, I chose to share my story of moving from Khobar to Brooklyn and how the cities look similar to me. I selected Dumbo in Brooklyn and Pier 17 in Manhattan as the locations for the project. The scarf colors represent three things: green for Saudi, pink and blue for the bright and colorful Nashel that women in the Eastern Province used to wear, and black for the main color of the Abayas that we wear.

To reinforce the concept of my identity representation, I deliberately captured some of the images without showing the attractions, but the identity was there. also as Saudis says when they see each other in a different country 3 " السعودي ينعرف "


Location : Dumbo, Brooklyn NY, United States - Pier 17, Manhattan, NY, United States
Model : @salomesolllll
Equipment : Sony A7C II, Sony 24-70mm

1. wain ghishwati . in arabic it means where is my head scarf
2. bataghasha . the verb of ghishwah, the action that they do with the Ghishwah
3. a phrase that we usually say when we see each other in a foreign place, it's pronounced " alsaudi yenarif " and it means saudis are recognizable everywhere.