Aleef Mehdi

I capture people in action, in personal settings, doing things they love to do. The work is a response to our current media landscape, which is jarring and anxiety-inducing. As an American living in Canada, I’ve been feeling helpless watching each news cycle. This proposed work is a response to the number of depressing news stories coming out of my home country. I feel sad, angry, frustrated, and ineffective. I know the stories of school shootings, corporate greed, decaying environment, and corrupt politicians won’t stop anytime soon; and as a result, I can only focus on a localized and momentary happiness. This series portrays people doing things that bring them bliss, whether it be gardening, biking, yoga, or playing with a pet. More than ever, I need to see people enjoying life’s small moments. Our experience becomes more intimate; the figure invites the viewer to enter this personal moment, and allows us to be in the same space during that captured moment. Hopefully we slow down.