Segregation by gender has existed in highly conservative communities for years, in order to raise their children in an isolated environment and away from any sort of sexual relations.

But in most cases, this only causes sexual suppression and severe disorders in sexual orientation identification. The teenagers in these communities, who do not have access to healthy relationships with the opposite sex, would start considering homosexual behaviors, that sometimes leads into sex. By growing in conservative families, teenagers face this segregation, that causes them confusion and prevents them to determine their true sexual orientation and the consequences will not leave them in their entire life. This confusion affects individual’s way of dressing, way of makeup, way of speak, form of body, and communications with others and causes depression and isolation. And also these people will never be able to reveal their true sexual orientation. I tried to depict the lack of identity that these people deal with.

About Mohammad Sorkhabi

I am Mohammad Sorkhabi, 37, and a fine art portrait photographer. In 2015, I began photographing professionally. I use classical lighting and pictorial techniques to create a special mood, inspired by the form and aesthetics of romantic and Renaissance painters. The toning and coloring and the subtle expression of the face and other elements create a kind of melancholy and gothic feeling in their depth. When I stage a photograph, I use real subjects that are in line with the concept. For instance, in the “Mourning for Father” series, all my models had lost their fathers.

In order to convey the real emotions of people, I always leave the doors open to improvisation for my subjects, so I allow my models to express an emotion that has existed in their subconscious for years, even though my projects have pre-written concepts. Because of that, selecting models has always been challenging for me. The answer to these questions comes from my childhood, which explains why I like this genre of photography or why I became a photographer at all. I played with my father’s equipment as a child since he was a filmmaker and photographer. Furthermore, my mother always filled the walls of our house with frames of classic paintings. These paintings belonged to the romantic and renaissance eras and had exactly the same color tone I use in my work today. [Official Website]