Sarah Bahbah
Sarah Bahbah is an artist of Palestinian descent. She was born and raised in Australia.[1] She studied creative advertising in college, then started shooting music festivals, including Firefly, after her first year.[2]
Bahbah first came to international attention with her breakout photo series ,“Sex and Takeout,” a play on food porn and indulging without restraint.[1][3]
Elite Daily and Nylon named her Best Instagrammer in 2016.[4] That same year, Bahbah's collaboration with a fried chicken restaurant in Sydney drew criticism for its display of Bahbah's images of nude women throughout the dining area and on the restaurant's website.[5][6] She held her first solo exhibition, Fuck Me, Fuck You, in New York City in 2018.[7] The solo exhibition Splash followed in London.[8]
VICE has described Bahbah's photos as "optimized for the Internet".[9] Bahbah often captions her images using subtitles, with the resulting image resembling a film still.[10] In 2018 Selena Gomez was accused of copying Bahbah's visual style without credit in her music video "Back to You".[11] Bahbah's official response claimed that she was "flattered that so many have referenced me in Selena’s latest work".[12]
Style and Influences
Bahbah's instantly recognizable images, which employ the use of subtitles, have made her a "go-to" in the industry for this style of work.[13] In interviews early in her artistic career, Bahbah describes the inspiration behind her series "Summer Without A Pool", a style continued throughout her future body of work:
It’s been on my mind to use Instagram in a new way for sometime. I kept asking myself, what makes me stop and think, “Yes, this,” when I’m cruising the platform. I quickly became obsessed with screen shots of foreign films that have subtitles overlaying. I loved the notion of having a strong image, complemented by strong copy. I wanted to take it to the next level and create a serial, episodic quasi-narrative. Each individual piece tells a story on its own, but when you bring the body of work together, there is a deeper narrative open to interpretation, leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions based on their own experiences.[14]
Symbolism
Bahbah's series "I Could Not Protect Her" is a multimedia work challenging the artist's trauma from childhood sexual abuse.[15] The photo portion of the series presents the conflicting sentiments felt by the subject; subtitles convey a simultaneous desire for approval from the abuser and a strong detest for his actions.[15] In the closing piece of this series, “ I Could Not Protect Her--The Poem”, a silent-subtitled video of a woman details her journey through abuse and the continuation of unchecked actions by the abuser upon her niece; "I could not protect her, Because I could not protect myself."[15]
In an interview following the launch of this series with Teen Vogue, Bahbah speaks about how being silenced as a child informs her current work:
As a child, I was constantly dismissed. The disregard for my existence raised me into an apathetic adult- completely disassociated from my emotions. It was only until my trauma resurfaced that I understood that my work had become a projection of my childhood. Through my art I had begun to manifest freedom. My sole intent in my work and my being is to practice transparency of my emotions, and to express, express, express, as for so long I didn’t have a voice. Through my art I’m creating a safe space for expression for myself, and in doing so, I hope to empower others to do the same.[15]
References
- Perez, Olivia. "Making The Private, Public: A Conversation With Photographer Sarah Bahbah". Forbes. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- Bahbah, Sarah (24 June 2014). "Artist-in-residence: Sarah Bahbah". NYLON (Interview). Interviewed by Jackie Yaeger. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- "The badass artist behind this viral 'Sex and Takeout' photo dishes on indulging without restraint". MarketWatch. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- "Sarah Bahbah". Art Unified Gallery. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- Harris, Amy (21 February 2016). "Breasts, thighs and bad taste on menu". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 13.
- Rigby, Myffy (1 March 2016). "Get your kicks with seriously hot sauce: hot plates". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 4.
- Bowenbank, Starr (20 March 2018). "Sarah Bahbah On The Dylan Sprouse DM That Inspired A Photo Series". NYLON. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- Kane, Ashleigh; Manatakis, Lexi (11 June 2018). "Art exhibitions to leave the house for this month". Dazed. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Black, Shelby (31 March 2018). "These Photos Capture the Angst and Apathy of Love in the Instagram Era". VICE. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Shubshizky, Ines (16 February 2018). "Sarah Bahbah is giving you a glimpse of people's most intimate moments". Forward. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- Anastasiou, Zoe (17 June 2018). "Selena Gomez Has Been Accused Of Plagiarising An Australian Artist In Her 'Back To You' Video". Elle Australia. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Bailey, Alyssa (12 June 2018). "Artist Sarah Bahbah on Healing, Insta-Fame, and Those Selena Gomez Accusations". Elle. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Bailey, Alyssa (12 June 2018). "Artist Sarah Bahbah on Healing, Insta-Fame, and Those Selena Gomez Accusations". ELLE. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- "Instagram Photo Series “Summer Without A Pool” Explores Teenage Coming-Of-Age". NYLON. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- Ward, Anne Marie. "Her Body of Work." PhD diss., Fordham University, 2019.