Vivid Projects
PEOPLE ARE BEAUTIFUL
By Aabidah Shah
Since being at the University of Wolverhampton, Aabidah has found her place in the studio. She photographs peoples of all different races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexualities and backgrounds. She is all about inclusivity. She builds a friendly relationship with the people she photographs, which helps them to be comfortable in the studio, and it shows in her work. Aabidah shoots on medium format and alternates between digital and film. Still, all of the images shown here were shot on film, Aabidah did this because of the rawness of a film photograph. Before taking the pictures, she would tell the person that they are beautiful and would capture that instant reaction. What you see is what you get.
Review:
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Way back in January 2020 BA Photography students and members of PH Collective from the University of Wolverhampton displayed their phenomenal work at one of Digbeth’s hidden gems, Vivid Projects. The work shown complimented the industrial space perfectly, with subject matters ranging from architecture to identity and slices of life.
One photographer in particular, Aabidah Shah, struck a chord through her bold and colourful snapshots that depicted portraits of people from all areas of society. The various emotional expressions of these people appear genuine and not forced, which makes you feel like they are completely comfortable to be themselves - which is a great credit to the photographer! In addition to this, the vibrant backgrounds in these shots add extra flair to the light and form of the subjects - so much that you can't help but look when seeing them in a 3D space!
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By Sharon Sutton
Review:
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The PH collective exhibition was a good way to show visitors the variety of influences and skills photography can bring. From greys scale images of the environment to wildlife doing its job and human portraits.
The 'people are beautiful' project showed the various, but positive ways people react to being told that they are beautiful. The photographer captures this reaction and its good that positive compliments can still make people smile. The project influences me to want to make more people smile and it's generally a great advocate for spreading positivity. Even the yellow background psychologically makes the person in the images reaction more definite. As yellow has positive connotations.
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By Malik Nasiera Foster