INTERVIEW WITH ADEM

I sat down with Adem Wijewickrema to learn more about how his culture influences his photography, and what this specific project, in collaboration with Jehan Rana, meant to him.

SADDQA BAHIDRAH:

“HOW DID YOU FEEL WHILE SHOOTING THIS PROJECT?”

ADEM WIJEWICKREMA:

“HONESTLY I WAS JUST REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT ESPECIALLY DURING RAMADAN. THIS WAS MY SECOND RAMADAN AT PRATT AND THE FIRST ONE I DIDN’T KNOW MANY OTHER MUSLIMS AT PRATT, SO FOR ME THIS WAS A HUGE MARK OF PROGRESSION AND SUCCESS FOR THE MSA. GETTING TO TAKE THESE PHOTOS SHOWED THAT WE HAD BUILT A COMMUNITY AND THROUGH THESE PHOTOS WE CAN SHOW WHO IS IN THIS COMMUNITY AND FOR ME THIS WAS REALLY EXCITING. HOWEVER THIS IS ONLY A PORTION OF OUR COMMUNITY AS THIS WAS ONLY THE MEN OF THE MSA, UPON RETURNING BACK TO PRATT I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH JEHAN AND TAKING PHOTOS OF EVERYONE ELSE IN OUR COMMUNITY.”

SADDQA BAHIDRAH:

“WHAT KIND OF CULTURAL INFLUENCES AFFECT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE?”

ADEM WIJEWICKREMA:

“WHILE MY PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME, ELEMENTS OF CULTURE HAVE REMAINED CONSTANT. GROWING UP WITH A TOP EGYPTIAN PHOTOGRAPHER, KNOWN FOR HER WORK WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, CANON, REUTERS, AND VARIOUS MUSEUMS AND ART SHOWCASES WORLDWIDE, GREATLY INFLUENCED MY OWN STYLE. HER USE OF COLOR, EXPOSURE, AND COMPOSITION RESONATED WITH ME. ADDITIONALLY, MY TIME AT PRATT AND AS A TA AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY INTRODUCED NEW SHIFTS IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY, ALLOWING ME TO EXPLORE VISUAL IDENTITY AND CREATE MORE DIVERSE PIECES.”

SADDQA BAHIDRAH:

“YOU’RE EGYPTIAN AND SRI LANKAN, WHAT ROLE HAS THAT BI-CULTURE PLAYED IN YOUR LIFE?”

ADEM WIJEWICKREMA:

“THE BI CULTURE ASPECT OF MY IDENTITY WAS VERY PREVALENT IN MY UPBRINGING. BY HAVING THE EXPERIENCES OF A MULTICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD I FEEL THIS MADE ME MORE WELL ROUNDED. TO EXPAND ON THIS BY LIVING IN A DIVERSE ENVIRONMENT I FELT I WAS PUSHED FURTHER THROUGH MY UNDERSTANDING OF CULTURE AND THE WORLD THROUGH ART, RELIGION, LANGUAGE, FOOD AND HOLIDAYS. THE BI CULTURE HOUSEHOLD I LIVED IN COMBINED WITH MY EXPERIENCES OF LIVING IN THE US AND THE MIDDLE EAST ALONG WITH GOING TO IB SCHOOLS WHICH FOCUS ON INTERNATION AL LEARNING EXPERIENCES HAVE VERY MUCH SHAPED ME INTO WHO I AM TODAY.”

SADDQA BAHIDRAH:

“HOW DO YOU FEEL MOST CONNECTED TO YOUR CULTURE?”

ADEM WIJEWICKREMA:

“WHEN LOOKING AT MYSELF AND HOW CONNECTED I AM TO MY CULTURE, THIS IS MOST PREVALENT THROUGH ART, GENERAL BELIEFS/PHILOSOPHIES, FOOD, AND HOLIDAYS AS THESE ARE THE LENSES THROUGH WHICH I DEFINE OR EXPRESS MYSELF THE MOST. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES ON MY CULTURE IN NEW YORK ARE THROUGH THE PEOPLE I AM ABLE TO CONNECT WITH WHETHER THEY SHARE THE SAME CULTURAL IDENTITY OR THE SAME INTERESTS IN ART. THERE HAS BEEN A HUGE INFLUENCE WHICH I FEEL

SADDQA BAHIDRAH: ADEM WIJEWICKREMA:

“DO YOU HOPE TO SEE MORE CULTURAL INFLUENCE LIKE THIS IN THE PRATT SCENE?”

“WHEN LOOKING AT CULTURE AT PRATT THERE IS A LOT THAT CAN BE DONE AND NEEDS TO BE DONE TO EXPAND ON THIS. PRATT HAS A LOT OF STUDIO CULTURE ACADEMICALLY BUT SOCIALLY AT PRATT THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM TO EXPAND IN ORDER TO SHOWCASE WHAT THE STUDENT BODY HAS TO OFFER.”