Sane Seven currently lives in the United Kingdom with her husband Marius Jančiauskas, who is also her colleague, the brand manager. They arrived here around 2005, when they also had to work in an old people’s home. However, this did not last a lifetime – in the long run, Sane Seven managed to establish itself in the country’s art market, participate in exclusive projects and cooperate with companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, etc.
The artist enchants with her never-ending energy and positivity. As soon as the conversation started, she immediately stopped all artificial formalities and suggested addressing each other as “you”.
We could talk to Sane Seven for hours, but this time we focused only on her career as a photographer and her amazing project in Iraq.
– Sane, why is it important for you to tell the Lithuanian audience about this project?
– Few people have the opportunity to be in places like Iraq, and this is an extraordinary project. I thought it was interesting for people to see how women from other cultures live and work. In this case, they get up in the morning and go to work in the minefield. An acquaintance of mine was simply amazed how women could do such a job. That sentence made my hair stand on end – how can he say that women can’t do this?
– How did you come to photography yourself??
– It was a long journey, but now I’m already full foot in it. It all started with a great love for people, and especially strong and successful women with whom I enjoy spending time. And that’s when photography became a kind of access to interesting people. For example, there is no other specialty in the world that allows you to create, however brief, a relationship with famous politicians, writers, actresses and businesswomen.
Eventually I became famous in England as a photographer helping to shape attitudes towards women. So it will never be entirely about the photo I created, but about the discussion it will provoke. This is very important to me.
– Why specifically women? Have you ever experienced injustice yourself??
– I will answer briefly – no. But for a long time I was naive, thinking that the world was flat. Growing up, I never had a problem with being a girl: I always stood up for myself, I never shut up when I heard injustice. Even when I came to England, I did not experience any kind of discrimination. But when I started working with different companies, I heard from women how deep discrimination is hidden at all levels – indeed we live in such inequality! Therefore, naturally strong women who strive to create better conditions for the women who come after them are true inspirations and authorities. But we still live in a world where 113 of the 192 United Nations have never had a woman head of state.
“Could you go?”name your greatest achievements in photography?
– I don’t want to sound arrogant, but the prizes in London and New York are not my greatest achievements. What I appreciate most is that the companies I worked with began to think that something needs to change in their equality policy. Let’s say one of our customers is the Ministry of Defense in England. It’s no secret that all over the world female police officers, soldiers and sailors experience a lot of discrimination due to centuries of male culture. In addition, they are trapped by a lot of rules, from how their hair should look to what they wear.
So, in this project I photographed 20 women with whom I wanted to break old stereotypes. Yes, they hold very high positions, but when you leave work, you’re a woman who likes to eat ice cream, watch Netflix, and indulge in the occasional rant. Therefore, this cycle of photographs consisted of very formal and informal parts. But what did it do? The highest-ranking generals and lieutenants themselves gathered at the exhibition to better understand the challenges women face in the workplace, promising measurable change. The point was not the photos themselves, but the fact that everyone gathered in one place and started a discussion.
– Still, for Lithuania to come to England and to achieve so much is not an easy task. OftenBritish women fail to reach such heights. What difficulties did you have to face?to meet
– People often say that I’m easy to talk to, because I have access to various companies, people and magazines. But it is not easy, otherwise everyone would do it. I was driven forward by a constant desire.
In Lithuania, I graduated from sociology at the Vilnius Pedagogical University, but I always knew that it was not for me. Then I studied photography and art in England and got a job as a teacher. The whole family was happy that it was a nice and decent job (laughs). But it was very boring for me because I didn’t feel like I could change anything. I always wanted something more.
As soon as I started photography, I learned one thing – you are nothing without contacts. You can be the best artist, but if you don’t have a strong circle around you, you will be a flop. As a result, I started going to various events unrelated to my profession 7-8 times a week. Through which I met the most unexpected people, whose circle eventually became a huge network that opened access to various opportunities. This network is the main reason for my success.
– This is very good advice for budding artists. But let’s move on to Iraq. MAG International invited you as one of five female photographers for the project “The Female Lens”.“who documented women fromlives of miners around the world. You selected Iraq. Codel?
– In fact, we considered between two countries – Iraq and Syria, but a week before leaving, a rocket hit one of the cars in front of MAG in Syria, so we had to abandon this plan for safety reasons.
When it comes to Iraq, people are very preconceived. From the messages broadcast in the media, one can get the impression that this is a very dangerous and unpredictable country. I was drawn to it because I wanted to see how women live there, what our differences are, and I was hoping to see the real picture, not the one the media portrays.
– What is yours? the situation of the photographed Yazidis, Arabs and Kurds at the moment?
– I was traveling with a lot of prejudices. I thought they would be extremely conservative, covered in hijabs, etc. However, I was very wrong. They are practically no different from me or you. Of course, I don’t want to speak for all of Iraq, because Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Iraq are different. I don’t want to talk much about the Federal, because, as I understand, everything is very different there and women are overshadowed there, but in Kurdistan most of them were especially western, intellectual, progressive.
Of course, there are minor differences: in Lithuania, we would not wear national clothes when we were photographed. It was fun to see Yazidis with a rich culture (admittedly, especially mythologized) who came in their national dresses but wearing Adidas sneakers (laughs). However, the Yazidis have a strong respect for their culture. For example, I wanted to do a shot where those Adidas shoes could be seen a little, but they very nicely asked me not to, because the shoes don’t match the dress.
In addition, I don’t think at all about how I look when taking pictures, so I “get” into very strange poses. I thinned it out at one point to make it more comfortable for me to photograph them from the ground and how they started to laugh! In the West, you wouldn’t even think that this could be a problem, but this is where I experienced a bit of shame (laughs).
However, I want to emphasize that Iraqi women are normal, everyday women who watch the same Hollywood movies and eat McDonald’s, but it was very painful for me to listen to their stories. “We live with the idea that something is going to happen to Iraq immediately,” they told me.
– The ISIS war in Iraq is oversi in 2017 after a series of Iraqi attacks. What stories did you hear from women who experienced this war?
– All the stories told are very painful. Let’s say we went to one village and I had a huge shock – it was completely destroyed, the buildings were just crumbled. It’s hard for me to fathom the fact that the people who lived there had to abandon their daily lives and just run. Because they realized that in an hour or two, ISIS would be invading their backyards. Because their children will be taken captive, and the woman will be raped. The women I worked with during my trip had more or less all had some kind of relationship with ISIS: they had fled with their families, but their parents didn’t make it and were captured, or their husbands were killed. These stories are tragic and mind boggling.
Before coming here, I was under the impression from the media that ISIS only attacks Westerners. But in reality they were ruining the lives of the locals. The Iraqis were not good to the Iraqis.
– Were women willing to share stories of sexual abuse?
– Thank God, none of the women I photographed were raped. However, they had acquaintances who had this happen to them.
Just at the beginning of August, the decade of the Yazidi genocide was commemorated. We were supposed to go to the town of Sinjar, which we unfortunately did not get to. I know many women have returned there because it is their home. They came back to clean up all the mess left behind by ISIS ie the men. They destroy, and the women and children have to urinate. This is probably why they started demining. I still wonder how strong they must be to do something like this. After all, this requires not only hands, but also knowledge. And where is the knowledge that most of them have lost their husbands and children and still have hope to save their country.
Moreover, ISIS was not stupid: both programmers and engineers worked for them. Literally, they had enough creative thinking and came up with all kinds of bombs. So, when people came back, they didn’t find it in the middle of the room, it was usually hidden, for example, under the tiles. Imagine coming back to a nice clean house, stepping on a tile, and everything explodes. ISIS used to put mines in children’s toys, in a well, etc
So, women have to work very slowly and carefully to clean the entire area. Landmines can be everywhere.
Sane Seven photo/Sane Seven Women deminers captured in Iraq
– How did you feel as a woman in such a situation?
– Various. When we drove to the minefield, it was great to see so many women in the giant fields. Among them were not only deminers themselves, but also managers and other personalities holding high positions (engineers, programmers, teachers). It was very surprising that they were dressed in special clothes, and after finishing their work, they changed into their traditional clothes. This contrast is unreal and shows that women are women and no matter what they wear, they can be many things.
Personal album photo/Sane Seven prepares to leave the minefield
– Didn’t you feel insecure?
“It’s not like we were walking on landmines, but knowing you were on a potential landmine… well, it was interesting.” Since demining was carried out according to strict rules, one wants to believe that we were safe.
Beyond the minefields, such safety is not guaranteed. One morning on our way to the minefield we were stopped by an elderly man riding a donkey. He was a shepherd. He reported that someone in the neighborhood had found a mine in their fields. While we were there, we also heard that near another MAG minefield, someone had stepped on a mine in their backyard and died.
– How did the communication go?
– At the beginning, I thought that the language would be a big barrier, but we found a common language with some women through TikTok. While looking for ideas on how to take photos, I noticed that she spends a lot of time on that social network. Little by little, it became our dictionary and we didn’t even need a specially appointed translator anymore. All I had to do was say “TikTok” and she would give me something that you couldn’t even put into words.
– What will you take away?Hey from this project?
– I had to break the stereotypes formed in my head. The women I met were very different because of how the media portrayed them. However, this can only be done by going to Iraq yourself, so today I am happy to tell the real story of Iraqi women.
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2024-09-20 06:22:10
