Mehves Lelic is an Istanbul-born photographer and educator living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She received her BA from the University of Chicago in 2013. She is the recipient of a National Geographic Expeditions Council Grant, a City of Chicago Individual Artist Grant, and a Turkish Cultural Foundation Cultural Exchange Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited internationally in venues such as Filter Gallery (upcoming), the Rotterdam Photo Festival, Cosmos Arles France, Academy Art Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Institute Des Cultures d’Islam in Paris, and the Photographers’ Gallery Istanbul. Published works include the Aesthetica Magazine, Geo Magazine, and the Nat Geo Adventure Blog. She is adjunct faculty in photography at Anne Arundel Community College.
On Adornment
This series explores the relationship between adornment and selfhood and its inherent visual symbolism(s). I am intrigued by the physical signifiers that are often interpreted as the longing for and the rejection of a gaze, and the mitigation of the two opposing sentiments. Focusing on my immediate community of Muslim-American women, I picture the complexities of self-image, selfhood, and material and spiritual belonging.
To view more of Mehves Lelic’s work please visit her website.