A new photography exhibition on at Trongate 103 has been created by a group of women from four different countries. The works show the development of techniques to portray cultural heritage, representation and memories of home.

*Ruya exhibition opening at Trongate 103 | Photo by Iain McLellan*

By Rhiannon J Davies

Fragmented images, reflections, glimpses into another world. Multiple exposures layer dream-like portraits with colourful ethereal backdrops. Ghostly photograms of delicate flowers frame powerful black and white portraits.

Ruya is a girl’s name, meaning vision, sight or dream in Arabic. It’s also the title of a stunning new photography exhibition at Trongate 103, which features the work of four friends: Sareh Abasi, Syeda Sadaf Anwar, Najat El Bouhali Digoug and Morwenna Kearsley.

The women came together through photography workshops held in Govanhill as part of Morwenna’s Culture Collective residency with Street Level Photoworks. It began with photo walks around the local area. The women had no prior photography experience, but as Syeda said: “For me, it felt very good, because I’m very alone here, and I miss my family and it was good to make new connections… We had no idea at that time, it would go onto become this big show.”

Hailing from Morocco, Iran/Afghanistan, Pakistan and Scotland their collective works reflect on cultural heritage, representation and memories of home.

Still life images of food feature in the exhibition including one photo of a colourful tea set on a shimmering ornate silver tray. Talking about these images Najat says: “Food is not just entertainment; it's a connection with the country, with the culture, and women's feelings as well as our individual situations.”

Another photo shows slices of marble cake flanked by candelabras with a purple satin backdrop. It’s Syeda’s mum’s recipe. She says: “I think everyone can make cake, but your mum's cake is totally different. I connected with my childhood through this cake. When I get the smell of the cake, I just miss my mum. She's in Pakistan, she's 70 and I'm waiting for the time I can meet her again and eat cake together.”

Portraiture and self-portraits are also prominent in the exhibition. Some reflect the collaborative processes of the group, such as those that are co-authored by all four women taking multiple exposures of a single shot.

Morwenna explains: “This is what's interesting about these pictures; we all make each picture. So what happens is, someone stands in, someone takes a picture, and then we pass the camera, and then you take another picture that layers over the top. So the four of us were working together to make one image.”

Mirrors were used by the group to take creative self-portraits, fractured images that reflect the different sides of ourselves. Morwenna reflects: “I think it makes me think about the fact that we're never one person. We're lots of people at once inside; I'm a different person when I'm with my boss than when I’m with my friends. And I think that sense of how we have lots of personalities within us, I think the photography starts to show that a little bit.”

The works also document the progress in the group’s learning – whether new technical skills in photography, photo development or photo-editing, but also in bringing in new ideas from beyond the photography world into shoots.

Najat says this development has been key: “The success of this show, I think is that we have had enough time to learn. There's no pressure to do these things in one week or in a month. We just relax. We just do it when we have time, when we are in a good mood.”

Speaking about the impact of the project, Sareh says: “Before, I was scared of judgement from people when they see my pictures. And now, because of this process, I’m confident. I'm not scared of judgement. I am who I am. That is really important to me.”

Catch the exhibtion at Gallery 103, Trongate 103, Glasgow, G1 5HD from 2 March – 21 April 2024