As a female photographer of South Asian heritage, I'm somewhat of a rarity. Moreover women from global majority communities who occupy senior roles in their respective industries are still lower in number than their white, male counterparts. And yet I know we exist because I exist.
To celebrate these hidden figures, in 2022, I searched for women from UK based global majority groups to have their portraits shot for my ACE 'Women in Uniform' project - in a conceptual way that shared their individual truths, centring around what their 'uniform' meant to them. After a hugely successful run at the beautiful Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington in 2023, an extended portrait series ‘returned home' to Bradford's stunning Cartwright Hall in 2024. :-)
WIU celebrates the achievements of professional women of colour in industries where we are traditionally under-represented. In an effort to dismantle preconceived stereotypes and systemic, institutionalised racism and misogyny, I built a strong subject dialogue and discussed the complex interplay between women of colour and cultural sensitivities by inviting them to discuss the sub-text and role of their uniform and what/how it represents them individually.
Here are the majority of the portraits from the 84 portrait series.
Enjoy.
Shy
Please note, all the images are copyright protected by Shy Burhan and no usage rights are implied or allowed without express permission of the above…
