Local Artist Feature: Dana Murtada
By Anita Goharfar, Columnist
Featuring Dana Murtada
Dana Murtada’s memories of growing up in Kuwait are preserved in images, and they come alive in her family’s many photo albums. “I always loved the pictures my mom and dad used to take when they were in their 20s and 30s. I just love this idea of being able to capture memories. Taking photos is my way of connecting a moment to a feeling,” she recalls. Now an architecture student and a self-taught photographer, Murtada draws from her childhood memory books and her passion for fabricating unique experiences in her artistic pursuit as an up-and-coming designer and photographer.
Murtada considers the Northeastern Dialogue of Civilizations she took to Cuba the start of her photography endeavor. “It was such a beautiful place; every single day, we’d fill every hour with an activity.” she describes. “It was always going out, taking pictures, learning about Cuban culture, being in Cuban culture. It was a great way to really start learning photography.” From there, Murtada began to explore her own style and aesthetic. She embarked — and remains — on a journey of trial and error and discovery, whether in her classes or in the mundane yet beautiful instances of everyday life.
I had the opportunity to speak with Murtada about her most recent works. The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Architecture is often seen as rigid and technical, whereas photography can be more expressive. How do you approach the two disciplines?
A: I love architecture, and after three years at Northeastern, I still like the scope of it — of how many things are underneath this little hat that you call architecture. This goes along for photography too — it’s about the experience. When I take a photo, or when I edit a photo, I want someone to feel what I want them to feel when I take that photo. Most of the time, it’s a sense of warmth or comfort. With architecture, it’s the same; you create experiences for people and see how they feel. It’s that connection that I love so much.
Q: Is there a specific subject or style that best encapsulates your work?
A: I started out with street photography, but I’ve recently gotten into doing more staged work. This semester I worked with a super awesome Palestinian brand called Anat and I photographed their hand-embroidered denim jackets. It was very staged; it was very much a studio photography setup that I’d never done before, but it was a very fun experience.
In terms of aesthetic, I try to keep my photos very warm, very light. Not light in the sense of actual brightness or darkness, but more about how they emulate a sense of ease.
Q: That reminds me of the Temperature Series.
A: I have always really loved colored lighting. There’s a film photographer, Jake Wangner, who works with LED lights and it’s absolutely stunning. I was trying to emulate that, and I feed off of colors a lot when it comes to photography. I also tried to keep that aesthetic going in my 7ur’iyaa series.
Temperature Series (I) By Dana Murtada
Temperature Series (II) By Dana Murtada
Temperature Series (III) By Dana Murtada
Q: The 7ur’iyaa series is really fascinating. “Ur’iyaa” translates to “liberation” and you describe it as a project exploring mental health, abuse, sexuality, and drinking. — topics that so many young people avoid discussing in Middle Eastern culture because it’s tabooed. Tell us more about the process of creating this series.
A: It’s not a topic I think about every single day of my life, but it’s definitely a topic that has affected me a lot. It was a final project for my photography class. I made a Google form and reached out to my high school friends and Arab people that I knew. Then, I narrowed it down to a focus group of four 20- to 22-year-olds to photograph. I had some sort of idea about the taboo each specific person would face the most. I chose a color, staged it, and put it together.
It’s a project that, in my mind, might not be controversial in the sense that you would look at it and say oh my god this is too much to see, but I haven’t even told my parents that I’ve done this project because it’s a difficult thing to talk about. It’s hard to put [the topic] in words when I don’t want to upset or offend anyone. The most difficult part of this project, which I am still dealing with, is getting my message out there in a way that I exactly want it to be out there. It’s [difficult] having people who didn’t grow up in the Middle East or know about these cultural expectations to think that I’m specifically antagonizing the Middle East.
7ur’iyaa Series (I) By Dana Murtada
7ur’iyaa Series (II) By Dana Murtada
7ur’iyaa Series (III) By Dana Murtada
Q: Do you think your identity as an Arab woman impacted this series?
A: This was the first time I did an artistic project that had so much sentimental value to me. In architecture and photography, I don’t blatantly make statements. I don’t take a picture and say I am a woman and I am Arab. It’s not really the purpose, but it goes along with what I make and it is a part of it. My identity definitely impacted the 7ur’iyaa series, because [these topics] are something I have always thought about. It was a tough project because I wasn’t trying to antagonize the Middle East at all. I was just trying to make every individual that I photographed feel liberated.
Q: You have an expansive number of subjects and locations that you photograph. Is there a unique experience that stands out?
A: I did a really interesting project last semester, Into the Woods. It had a Stranger Things vibe. I set out with my friends at 8 pm, when it was pitch black dark, and it was just us in the middle of the woods with these really really strong LED lights. It was awesome! It was an emulate project — I was emulating another photographer whose work I really enjoy, but I also wanted to make it my own.
Into The Wood Series (I) by Dana Murtada
Into The Woods Series (II) by Dana Murtada
Q: What is your advice to anyone getting started with photography?
A: Put yourself out there and take photos. It’s definitely tough because sometimes so many months go by and I haven’t taken more than five photos that I like. It takes a lot of creative energy out of you, but it’s worth going outside and taking pictures whenever you get the chance. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and the more you learn about yourself and your photography.
