I AM WOMAN,
I AM BEAUTIFUL.

How it began…

You must have seen many women, who stopped at a red light or even while driving, on public transport, at train and bus stations, and sometimes in extremely complex conditions, do their makeup with great care and precision despite severe shocks and road bumps.
The main idea of this project came from seeing these women.

Seeing them in these scenarios, especially when I was commuting to and from work, has always kept these silly questions in my mind. Can I trust this lady who is seated in front of me, wearing makeup and trying to cover her face and its natural features? When I visit her at work, as a colleague, as a seller or on many other occasions, is she a trustworthy person? Is there any guarantee that whatever she is saying when she is trying to sell a product, is right? How can I trust her if she is a consultant when I see her making up her face and covering up her reality? A person who conflicts with her natural appearance? Though, it is absolutely undeniable that everyone likes to look tidy, clean and adorned, why do women are wearing makeup, in public?

As a new immigrant to Australia who came from a society where there is so much social pressure on people especially women, wearing makeup in public spaces, was a sign of social freedom. But over time I realised, that though this is the right of everyone to wear make-up, the extension to applying it in public spaces, seemed odd and questionable to me. 

My family members, relatives and friends, make up their faces every day and every night, but I never even thought about why women wear makeup? Seeing this sort of social behaviour, caught my attention and raised lots of questions in my mind. So many questions could have been asked years before my immigration, to the closed society where I am from, but they were never asked.

Answering the question of whether women are interested in makeup or not is not complicated, but from a man’s perspective,  I think it is impossible to determine why? The other important question is, do women wear make-up for themselves or for society?  Or, what is the definition of beauty for women? What are they trying to achieve?

In this project, I did try to represent society, I tried to hear ladies first and then without any prejudice or judgment, capture their beauty without makeup. In the I AM WOMAN, I AM BEAUTIFUL project, I sometimes changed the viewing angle and tried to see my subjects vertically. I am supporting the fact that sometimes we need to change ourselves or our point of view to get a better understanding of our surroundings. The lighting conditions, the studio space, probs, and the equipment on the stage, were all designed to be consistent for everyone. The participants were sitting in front of the camera without discriminatory situations. It was only they who could express themselves.

This webpage and the short documentary-style interview film are the results of my observation of women without makeup. Those who believe, although they are all beautiful with their inner beauty, they like doing make-up, but they would rather, there is no pressure comes from society, including, colleagues, friends and even family.

In this project Makeup, considered, the use of any pure or mixture of natural or chemical compounds, to be used temporarily or permanently to the human face for altering, beautifying or covering the features, without affecting the face structure or functions.