‘Can I come over and take your picture?’: a decade-long archive captures cross-cultural womanhood

A new exhibition in New York City offers a compelling look at the intersection of identity, immigration, and the power of visual storytelling. “Can I come over and take your picture?,” the first solo show by photographer Clémence Polès Farhang, showcases over 200 portraits from her decade-long project, Passerby, alongside excerpts from the interviews that accompanied them. The exhibition, curated by Nastasia Alberti and hosted at Slip House, is a testament to the complex experiences of women navigating displacement and building lives in new countries.

The Genesis of Passerby

Polès Farhang began Passerby around the time she immigrated to New York City, using the project as a means to explore her own understanding of womanhood and to challenge internalized societal expectations. She was particularly influenced by her mother’s own complicated relationship with female expression, noting that while her mother believed in a woman’s right to choose, she often dismissed women who didn’t adhere to conventional standards of appearance or lifestyle. This personal reflection led Polès Farhang to consider how photography could offer a different perspective, shifting from judgment to curiosity.

Did You Know? The Passerby archive includes portraits of over 300 women photographed in their homes across New York, Paris, London, and Los Angeles.

Immigration as a Defining Factor

As Polès Farhang prepared the exhibition, a striking pattern emerged: the majority of the women featured were either immigrants themselves or the children of immigrants. This realization underscored how displacement profoundly shapes identity, work, and a sense of belonging. Polès Farhang draws a parallel to the work of Carmen Winant, specifically Winant’s use of photography to counter anti-choice narratives, and questions how images are used in contemporary discussions about immigration. She notes that the dominant framing of immigration often focuses on movement and control, and seeks to present an alternative – one that highlights the resilience and creativity of women building new lives.

Stories of Resilience and Adaptation

The portraits offer intimate glimpses into the lives of these women. Huong Dodinh, who fled Vietnam with her family in 1953, recalls the stark contrast between the lush landscapes of her homeland and the bare trees of Paris. Rose, arriving in New York in 2000, faced immediate hardship but persevered to create a better life for her children. Shirin Neshat, an Iranian artist, describes the initial depression she felt upon arriving in Los Angeles and the importance of finding community with other Iranian artists. Ana Kraš, born in Belgrade during the Bosnian war, found a sense of independence working as a model in Tokyo at age fifteen. Isabel Sandoval, a filmmaker, discovered her identity as a trans woman after moving to New York. Naïlat Salama Djae and Salimata Ali Chahidi, a mother and daughter from the Comoro Islands, have built a comfortable life in Paris, with Salimata working as a social worker assisting refugees. Tiana Rainford, raised in East New York by a Jamaican immigrant mother, now works at a community farm, promoting food education, and access. Sunny Shokrae, a photographer who left Iran as a child, continues to seek connections to her heritage through her work.

Expert Insight: Polès Farhang’s work demonstrates the power of portraiture to challenge dominant narratives and offer nuanced representations of lived experience, particularly for marginalized communities. By centering the voices and perspectives of immigrant women, she provides a counterpoint to often-simplistic and problematic portrayals in mainstream media.

What’s Next?

The exhibition at Slip House could spark further conversations about the role of art in social commentary and the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices. It is likely to draw attention to the complexities of the immigrant experience and encourage viewers to reconsider their own perceptions. The Passerby archive itself may continue to grow, potentially expanding to include more diverse perspectives and geographic locations. Further, the project could inspire other artists to explore similar themes through different mediums.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Passerby project?

Passerby is a decade-long photographic and oral archive created by Clémence Polès Farhang, featuring over 300 women photographed in their homes across New York, Paris, London, and Los Angeles, accompanied by interviews.

What is the central theme of the exhibition?

The exhibition explores the intersection of identity, immigration, and the experiences of women building lives in new countries, often highlighting the impact of displacement on their sense of self and belonging.

Where can I view the exhibition?

“Can I come over and take your picture?” is being hosted at Slip House in New York City.

What does it mean to truly feel at home, and how does that feeling shift when one’s roots are elsewhere?

‘Can I come over and take your picture?’: a decade-long archive captures cross-cultural womanhood | Photography