What constructs the person we are today? In a world of displaced populations, one develops multiple identities and facets of life through exposure to new perspectives and concepts. The photographic series, Within and Without, explores my cultural, racial, and gender identity as an Iranian immigrant woman within the American society.

This series of self-portraits are digitally manipulated to depict the relationship between location and my cultural identity. Within and Without visualizes the concept of belonging and self-identification, and it fractures the reality of my presence in the space. Within the self these identities are in constant battle and conflict. This raises questions of: how do we choose between culture, race, and gender amongst other identities in order to fit in a new society? How do places with which we interact define us? The psychological effects of these manipulations reflect the internal conflict struggle of identity and visibility.