In each image I’ve incorporated myself twice, once as the Iranian and once as the American.

It has always been a struggle for me to explain myself, who I truly am, and how I should or shouldn’t act in culturally diverse situations. Occasionally I feel confused, proud, and even awkward about how to deal with the differences of my two halves. Am I Iranian? Am I American? Should I be Muslim from my father or Jewish from my mother? Such thoughts and issues are what puzzle me as to which behavior would be most appropriate. I feel that maybe these photographs will answer some questions. Questions people might have, or even questions I have for myself as a person who has lived biculturally and bilingually my whole life.

In each image I’ve incorporated myself twice, once as the Iranian and once as the American. In some of my images I see conflict and in others, harmony between my two selves. This exploration is a growing one and much more work will follow.

Natalie N. Abbassi is an Iranian/American, raised both in the United States and Iran and speaks both English and Farsi fluently. She recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA in design and a concentration in photography, and currently lives in Greensboro. Abbassi enjoys setting up scenarios and digital photo collages to discover a deeper understanding of who we are as complicated beings. The goal of her photographic communication is to tell the stories of individuals’s lives, as it helps us see the shared common ground between us all.