For GRAZIA’s seventh episode on season two of Preserving Palestine, I invited Sarah Bahbah to join me as we discuss the issues that stem from toxic societal expectations, in particularly surrounding Arab women, and how she overcame them through her art.
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I won’t lie, I’m not someone that considers herself an expert on art. I can separate a Monet from a Pollock, but that’s about as far as I can go. I do know however, as someone who considers herself expressive, that art always stems from emotion. And when you harbour certain emotions for years, the best way to express them, address them and ultimately heal from them, is through art. Sarah Bahbah, the Palestinian-Australian artist and director based in Los Angeles, knows this all too well.
Bahbah is no stranger to fame, she’s had her work exhibited around the world, from Saatchi Gallery London to Zonamaco Mexico and beyond. She’s also worked with several publications and artists, directing music videos, short films and even producing covers for magazines. You probably recognise her work from Instagram, where she’s accumulated over 1 million followers and has most recently been nominated for The Webby Awards and Shorty Awards.
She creates, writes and directs series of photographs that have the ability to instantaneously capture the viewer’s attention with her witty, evocative and sometimes provocative one-liners. From quotes like “I will never let a man get away with breaking my heart,” to “[seeks comfort in pasta],” every moment that Sarah captures resonates with millions around the world. Her relatability most probably stems from the fact that her work is inspired by her own raw emotions. “Every series I’ve ever created, every word that you read, every visual that you see, stemmed from me processing my emotions,” she admits to me.
“Every series I’ve ever created, every word that you read, every visual that you see, stemmed from me processing my emotions”
One of the most refreshing things about Sarah, is how openly vulnerable and fearless she is. But that’s not something that came easy to her. “I feel like a lot of children of immigrants who grew up in a western world have internalised racism, towards their own identity, because we are all faced with this rejection at some point in our lives and I had to work through that. And now I couldn’t be prouder,” she cheerfully tells me. “There’s so much guilt for having rejected my identity for such a long time. But I try and be compassionate with myself and I label it as trying to survive in the Western world.”
“I feel like a lot of children of immigrants who grew up in a western world have internalised racism, towards their own identity, because we are all faced with this rejection at some point in our lives”
Sarah often uses other muses for her work, but for one particular series, named “3eib!” she chose to face her fears of being in front of the camera and be the face of the collection. “For the longest time, I was using women and men who didn’t look like me or look like the people that I represent, as a Palestinian woman and Arab woman,” Sarah expresses. “I was mostly shooting Western talent. And I realised in 2020, upon reflection, that it came down to the core beliefs that I had about the way that I looked. I didn’t feel like I belonged in front of the camera, because I never saw women who look like me on camera, especially in Australia.” Eventually, after hearing some much needed advice from a friend, Sarah took herself to the desert and starred in her collection, which proved to be a massive success.
“I didn’t feel like I belonged in front of the camera, because I never saw women who look like me on camera”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRMZXkzoAZy/?hl=en
I personally can’t wait to see where life takes Sarah Bahbah next. But for now, we can rejoice in the fact that there’s someone out there who feels the same way we do.
