As part of a series of interviews celebrating International Women's Week, I had the pleasure of interviewing `mnoo.

Can you tell me a bit about how you first became involved in photography?

I used to draw and paint from a very early age. The need to create something visual has been a constant throughout my life, even if I've gone through phases of using different mediums. I was about 11 when my dad gave me the first camera that was completely my own. It took 110mm film in a cassette. Since then I've pretty much carried a camera with me where ever I go. My photo albums from my teenage years were very popular among my friends although I don't think I started thinking about photography in an artistic way before Art College. Drawing and painting were still my main artistic mediums back then. While in college, I got my first 35mm SLR and it opened up so many new possibilities. At that time, I also started developing my own film and prints. That was love at first sight. I just adored everything about the darkroom: the quiet solitude, the atmosphere, the smell, the miracle of the pictures appearing in front of me... Having said that, I was always a very messy developer and quite a lot of my old prints have suffered as a consequence. Not to mention some precious old negatives with finger marks permanently burned into them. In that sense, digital quite literally is a life saver for me – and my work.



What do you think are the biggest issues for women in the world today?

Last night I was chatting on the phone with my friend, a single mother, about how exhausted she is with trying to stay on top of it all. She was telling me how she's constantly struggling trying to make ends meet, trying to find time for housework, trying to find time to give to her young son – all the while feeling more and more detached from her true self and the life she imagined she would have. It made me think about the enormous pressures that women of today are under.

A lot of women feel like they are constantly told that they can't have it all, but that they are still expected to be it all – successful in their career, devoted mothers, gourmet cooks, housekeepers and sexually liberated seductresses in the bedroom.

Despite all the progress, employment inequalities between men and women persist. Financial independence remains an illusion with women still earning less than men for the same jobs. The pay gap is narrower between women and men with degrees, and because there are more women in higher positions than before it is widely accepted that we are living in times of equality. However, less qualified women don't earn nearly as much than similarly qualified men. While the rise of women in employment has been dramatic in the past 30 years, research shows that women are still the ones doing most of the housework, regardless of qualifications. It is predominantly women who take time off to look after sick children and working mothers with children put twice as many hours into housework as their partners.

The pressures are enormous for mothers working full time, whether in dual earner households or single mothers. Both long working hours, the burden of housework and childcare responsibilities have increased the time pressures for many women. Ironically, the constraints that these pressures put on women are also holding back their earning power. Spreading yourself thinly between work and family commitments provides little opportunity to concentrate on the things necessary for career progression.

Those who see women's liberation in terms of individual gain can only do so by ignoring the millions of women for whom life choices are very different from what material things to obtain or how to share your time between your career and personal life. All over the world, the conditions of some women have deteriorated and their lives have become more pressured, while a small number have gained. What does liberation mean for a mother, who works shifts in a factory, rarely has any 'quality time' for her family, and who constantly struggles to make ends meet; or a woman forced to stay in a violent marriage due to having no right to initiate divorce; or a woman trafficked to the west for prostitution?

When I started my 'Duality' series I wanted to celebrate all the different roles women can posses, and my viewpoint was a very liberated one – I do believe in women's strength, and their ability to wear different roles with ease. But I have also come to realise that I am very fortunate to be able to deal with these issues on such a level. It's important to keep in mind that a lot of women are not in the position where they could consider these different roles as choices. When the pressure to be all these things comes from the outside, the end effect can be more opressing than liberating.



Can you tell me a bit about the background to your 2 favourite
deviations from your own gallery?

Surrender was a picture that came as a side product of a series I shot for a contest. The energy in this one shot was so distinct that it was way too strong to be a part of a series. The situation was quite far removed from the end product, the models didn't really know each other that well and there was some awkwardness in the air. To get the movement I had them both bend forward and then throw their heads back quickly on my call. This lead to a lot of banging of heads together and getting hair in the mouth etc. It was fun though and there were a lot of giggles. This frame captured the moment of letting go and just having fun I think. There's a sense of freedom I love about it. I'm also glad I had the chance to capture =natashalyonne's hair in this way before she had it cut short.



Saint of Sinner was also shot for a contest (perhaps I make more of an effort when taking part in a contest?). It's one of those shots that almost ended up being a catastrophe but somehow turned out OK in the end. Quite a lot of work went into the preparation. The girl in the picture, Helmi, helped me bake a cake and set the scene in general. I originally had another model booked for the shoot and a completely different look in mind. She was blond and I had an idea of an angelic look for her to go with the whole iconic theme. After we had arranged all the food and the lights where I wanted them, and everything was set to go, I got a phone call from the model telling me she was ill and wasn't sure she could make it. While Helmi looked completely 'wrong' for the picture in my head, we had done a lot of work preparing the shoot, so I thought I'd at least have a go shooting her so as not to waste all the food. I found a wig that transformed her look quite a bit, and gave a sort of Alice in Wonderland vibe to the picture, which I found surprisingly pleasing. She nailed the expression I was after quite quickly, and even though there are things missing from the set (I got a bit thrown by the change in plans and forgot to add finishing touches), in the end I was very pleased with the end result. And it makes the best fridge magnet ever.




If you could photograph any event in history, what would it be ( past
or future!)?

I think it would be something tiny in the grand scale of things but huge on a personal level. Like the exact moment two people fall in love. There are enough photographers out there taking pictures of big politically important historical events. I'd like to be the one capturing the small wonders that make up the real flavour of life.

Often people seek to find happiness, fulfillment or meaning through big and dramatic events and forget to cherish the tiny personal fragments of joy that can be found in the middle of the mundane.



Can you tell me of any other women on deviantART who you find inspiring?

There are so many. Both male and female. My biggest inspirations since the earliest of my days on dA have been the always wonderful *visioluxus, the forever stylish ~lorrainemd and the amazingly creative `marcyintellect.

Other noteworthy women are *Aiae, *Ursylla, ~pirifool, *cryptorchid, `SeaFairy, ~ZephaniaOZ, *annejulie, among others – although there are simply way too many to mention here.

What about outside deviantART, who do you think are good examples of
role models for today's young women?

I think all women who are at ease with who they are, who recognise their own strengths and weaknesses while trying actively to better themselves are role models. I admire women who don't let the popular opinion affect their choices and who aren't afraid of taking risks. I suppose you could say I think people who are their own role models act as the best example to other women.



How do you think deviantART has benefited you as an artist?

The biggest specific thing dA has given me as an artist is endless amount of inspiration. Especially my first year on dA was filled with finding a gem after another that blew me away and made me want to create more and push further with my ideas. Even at times when I feel a bit more disconnected from dA, browsing through my devwatch never fails to give me a spark when I most need it.

Another important factor of dA is the strong sense of community and support that still prevails. I have gotten to know so many likeminded people during my time here, and have even forged close friendships. It's a wonderful way to get to know people because you know from the get go that you have something fundamental in common – a love for art.



What advice would you give someone thinking about taking up photography?

If you feel the need to perhaps translate the pictures in your head into photographic form or maybe just capture the world around you in frozen moments, go for it. Don't let debates about what type of photography is more valuable, or what way is the 'right' way to do things weigh you down. Snobbery over medium or format is futile; don't let such matters stand in the way of your need or right to create. At all times, remember to play, to have fun with photography and to embrace all aspects of it.

Do you have a message that you'd leave for the future generations of
women?

Never forget to look at the bigger picture. This applies to everything in life but, since this is an interview for Women's Week, in terms of women's liberation it could mean never letting your own comfortable position blind you from the fight that is still going on in many places. These days, the biggest obstacle for feminism might not be the proverbial glass ceiling of a capitalist society, but rather class and cultural divides. True liberation has not been achieved while there are still women who don't have the right over their own body – be it in the form of the right to abortion, the right to have children or the right not to be circumcised. Equality is not a fact while there are still women with no right to a divorce, control over who they marry or right to equal pay. While a few of us are enjoying the benefits of equality, there are still a lot of women in the world who are oppressed in a way that is unacceptable for this day and age. And of course, since we don't want to forget to look at the bigger picture, keep in mind that these are all predominantly human issues and affect us as people not just as representatives of a certain sex.



A very big thank you to `mnoo for taking time out to answer all my questions. You can find the rest of the International Women's Week Interviews here.