Face of Islam

On a rainy evening, about sixty people gathered inside the Arts Habitat in Seaside to hear Jean Brenner tell stories from her own series entitled "The Face of Islam: Photos from Asia and Africa" on March 22.

Brenner received her B.A. in History from Standford, Brenner studied Art History at the Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to having had photos in permanent collections of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, along with the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, she's traveled to more than twenty countries ranging from the Middle East, Central Asia, to the coasts of Africa which allowed her to compile a collection of photographs with a focus on people of the Arabic faith.

With wine glasses in the hands of many, Brenner's photos stirred many ooh's and ahh's from the audience each time a new, vibrant slide appeared.

On a particular photo of two women wearing hijabs, Brenner expressed that it was much more than a snap of the camera. "It's important to make a connection," she said. In order to do so, Brenner would often pull out a bottle of soap bubbles and blow them for the children; she referred to this as an ice-breaker. When the women saw this, Brenner described them as being pleased and in fact, opened their hijabs so that they too could blow bubbles. Brenner added that in many cases, she would give people a photo of herself in America with a beach in the background so that they could get a sense of who she was, as well as where she was from.

But why a beach? She expressed that she didn't want to show where she lived with the idea that "we have so much more." Brenner continued to express that her main purpose was to connect with the women and to "see each other more as people."

In another photo of a smiling young girl, Brenner told the story of what she referred to as one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, Yemen. "She pulled up her veil to smile at me, and I was so touched because I'd never asked her to," she said. When asked why she went to Yemen, Brenner claimed it was because she was curious. "Of course, this was when Bush was president," she added to emphasize the raised eyebrows her traveling caused.

Brenner expressed such pride in speaking about her visit to Iran in 2009, just after a protest that had occurred in June due to a great sense of hope, and solidarity among the young people. According to Brenner, sixty percent of the University is made up of women, and a majority are not soft-spoken.

In between describing their questions about the cost of a college education in America, and their desire for an American husband, Brenner shared a photo of the young Iranian women she spoke to. In the photo, one's hijab was halfway covering her hair, which Brenner alluded to as pushing the limits because hair was seen as sexy and should be covered completely.

During a series of photos taken at Benin, a small village located in West Africa, Brenner explained that many people had tattoos on their faces to "show the breath of Islam". She added that while many women weren't allowed to ride camels, they generally were the only ones to veil unless during a sandstorm where in which case, the men did also.

In Ethiopia, Brenner described a division where the northern part was predominantly Christian, while the southern was Muslim. Like the people of Benin, Christians of Ethiopia too had tattoos on their faces. However, they were of crosses which Brenner said represented their faith.

With all the enamored expressions Brenner's clear photos stirred among the attendees, she casually described her camera as being compact and nothing fancy with huge lenses. "Color is super important to me," she added while differentiating a preference over black-and-white photos. "[I] try to connect and that's what I hope these photos are all about."

Yet, among all the stories and photos Brenner has collected along her journeys across the world, she admitted that she has yet to figure out when exactly a young girl veils. The well-traveled photographer is scheduled to venture off to Iraq in May.