via Bulkka
“I was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to the US in 1984. I was trained and worked as an architect before getting seriously into photography. It originally started as a hobby to take better photos of my kids and eventually became my full time art and career.

The series A girl and her room began as I watched my 15 year old daughter transform and grow into a young women. As I watched her with her friends, I realized how aware they were of each other and decided to photograph each girl by herself in the place of her choice. After a few chose their bedroom, I realized this was where the photos should be taken as the room is the most personal place for each of those girls. I started with my daughter and her friends and daughters of my friends, but eventually moved away to photographing girls I didn’t know and whom I enjoyed discovering through a photographer/model relationship, free of any expectations.

In total, I photographed about 300 American and Middle Eastern girls. Those are the 2 cultures I have experienced myself while I was growing up, and the same is happening with my daughter. This is how this project became personal to me. The project was a collaboration between me and the girls in the images. I tried not to touch or move anything and keep the room as it was every day. In some cases the girls asked me to show something very important for them in the photo.

They were really attached to objects, photos, blankets, and as I wanted this project to be about them, we included those objects in the photos. The mirror was always there, a reminder of the connection of the girl to the outside world.

I am very thankful to every one of those girls who opened their doors to me and collaborated with me to make this project what it is, and very honored by the trust they placed in me.

The book A Girl and Her Room will be out on Spring 2012.”

Rania Matar