RAZAN ELBABA

ICONS

10/30- 11/15/2019

Now and more than ever, there is a greater fear among women in the United States who choose to wear hijab including myself.

Icons is a series composed of a dozen self portraits printed 13x19 and framed 18x24. The self-portraits are recreations of beautiful, strong, well known and empowering iconic women like Rosie The Riveter, Cleopatra, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, among others. I chose these women because they embody the description of fearless women. These women are in industries where they call their own shots. They also created and designed their own lives and were not simply muses of men.

By putting myself behind the icon, I show that although we might look different, we all possess the same inherent strength and value. While completing this series, I realized that because these women are no longer living and are labeled as historical, people over overlook the normalcy of them. However, all these women possess qualities that are often found relatable at one time or another in the average woman’s life. When these images are given a voice, they instantly come to life.