Finalist 2015
Laurence Rasti
Laurence Rasti was born in Geneva in 1990. Her work questions notions of beauty and identity. She grew up in Switzerland with Iranian parents and has a Bachelor in Photography from the Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). Her dual culture has led her to reconsider traditions and predefined codes in order to fully understand the power of the sexes in our societies.
There are no homosexuals in Iran, 2014
On the 24th September 2007, at Columbia University, the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declares: « Unlike your country, we have no homosexuals in Iran ».
Today, while gay marriage is accepted in many western countries, homosexuality is still punishable with the death sentence in Iran. This sanction prohibits homosexuals to freely live their sexuality. The practice of transsexuality is tolerated by law, but is considered a pathological illness. Homosexuals therefore have only two options, either become transsexuals or choose to flee.
In Denizli, a small town in Turkey, hundreds of Iranian homosexual refugees transit and pause their lives in the hope of reaching, one day, their host countries where they will be able to freely live their sexuality. In this framework of uncertainty, where anonymity is the best protection, this work questions the fragile notion of identity and gender.
My intentions were primarily to not victimise my subjects. In fact, it is true that these political situations are dramatic and that their past is covered with harsh memories. However, I tried to focus on their present situation and the hope it evokes. It is a promise of freedom of sexual orientation, and the overcoming of gender issues. The images are built with simple, light and sometimes even festive elements, to represent the paradox present with the gravity of the subject and their precarious situation. Between images of hidden or unveiled faces, my series witnesses the difficulty experienced by these people in reinvesting in their identity, identity that was once deprived.
Today, while gay marriage is accepted in many western countries, homosexuality is still punishable with the death sentence in Iran. This sanction prohibits homosexuals to freely live their sexuality. The practice of transsexuality is tolerated by law, but is considered a pathological illness. Homosexuals therefore have only two options, either become transsexuals or choose to flee.
In Denizli, a small town in Turkey, hundreds of Iranian homosexual refugees transit and pause their lives in the hope of reaching, one day, their host countries where they will be able to freely live their sexuality. In this framework of uncertainty, where anonymity is the best protection, this work questions the fragile notion of identity and gender.
My intentions were primarily to not victimise my subjects. In fact, it is true that these political situations are dramatic and that their past is covered with harsh memories. However, I tried to focus on their present situation and the hope it evokes. It is a promise of freedom of sexual orientation, and the overcoming of gender issues. The images are built with simple, light and sometimes even festive elements, to represent the paradox present with the gravity of the subject and their precarious situation. Between images of hidden or unveiled faces, my series witnesses the difficulty experienced by these people in reinvesting in their identity, identity that was once deprived.
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© Laurence Rasti
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