Photographer Rasoul Khorram (b. 1980) recorded the life of his elderly mother Halima Khanomilla in a series of photographs over a period of three years in Oshnavieh, Kurdistan, Iran, on the border of Iraq, Iran and Turkey. The photographs show his mother going about her daily chores, tending to plants, picking berries and going to picnics with the family. Rasoul Khorram's depiction of his mother's life in Kurdistan offers a glimpse into a traditional Kurdish community and communal everyday life.
In Oshnavieh, the city known as the cherry capital of Iran, this everyday life seems carefree, even though life in Kurdistan has become unpredictable. Rasoul's younger brother Omid takes care of their elderly mother now. Without his younger brother's promise to take care of their mother, Rasoul would not have been able to leave and come to work in Finland. His mother does not understand how Rasoul survives alone in Finland, away from the Kurdish community. With the continuing unrest, however, their mother's questions about her son's return are becoming less frequent.
Through photography, Rasoul strives to understand this conflict in his life: his mother's wish for him to return home and his desire to make his own life and build his career in Finland.
Rasoul Khorram (b. 1980, Iran) is a photographer, reporter and documentary filmmaker whose artistic work aims to create a wider dialogue and to improve understanding between cultures. Khorram has been active in the Finnish cultural scene since 2013.
The Finnish Museum of Photography
Project Space
The Cable Factory, The Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G, 00180 Helsinki
