The veil

During an artist residency, I offered to photograph my fellow artists as I worked on developing my studio lighting skills. I asked subjects to bring objects that held meaning for them, and perhaps because my subjects were themselves artists, they fully engaged and collaborated in this artistic endeavor. One artist came first with a headscarf and an Iranian musical instrument. At the end of our session, she offered to be photographed with a black veil. She "performed" with the veil, and in a way, I was the passive observer. As women and as artists, we shared a lot. My own work as an economist on gender inequality shapes how I view the restrictions on women's movements and dress in Muslim cultures -- but the anthropologist in me suspends judgement. I left it therefore to my subject to reveal her own relationship with this veil, her body, and her identity.