Dina Kheir

Quiet: an indefinable state of being, a still point in living, an idea, an inclination. As a woman my opportunity for solitary quiet is for myself and of myself. It is a space that affords peace. As though I've opened a door to tranquility.

In this body of work, I explore that inward directed gaze that elides the public facing self. Is it possible? I search the image of self as a singularity, as one at peace. Is it possible to photograph a thinking being? With these photographs I hope to show a person ruminating on.... It's a mystery. I show a person, a sovereign, in her domain, that of self. Perhaps the sitter is, instead, actively worrying or trying to remember. We humans have a rich inner life. It makes us who we are. We draw from that inner life to be a full human being.

When taking these pictures, I felt the need to know the nature of my subject's contemplative gaze. Was it a memory? Was it a disappointment or a recent incident that makes her dwell upon the possible outcome? These internalized moments of dwelling are shared by all humans. And we know it when we see it. It is a source of comfort, often it quells our anxiety and helps us understand ourselves in a world that is a constant jolt. 

There is no "issue" in my work. Rather, my attempt is to show that space on the other side of the closed door allows us quiet. With that there is time to think and to be and maybe, to arrive at a truce with living where there can be harmony.

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