Mariam Jafri vs Maryam Jafri

Maryam Jafri is a multi-media artist who intersects sculpture, photography and video. Her work is often research-based with a focus on the topic of representation regarding politics and the economy. She often engages with the unpredictable forces that lie outside of her practices such as accident and intuition.

In her 2019 video-essay Mariam Jafri vs Maryam Jafri, the artist explores the story of how a sculpture of hers, exhibited in an art fair in London, turned into a stock photo for licensing on the Getty Images website without her permission. Through a subjective voice-over, Jafri explores how her work was used by Getty Images as an online image, which was then re-used by her in the film. The work combines multiple essayistic elements from the use of two different voice-overs, images of the sculpture and the Getty version of it, as well as clips of an earlier work of hers. Jafri explores the unauthorized use of her work online and how images are recycled for different purposes. The film reflects upon issues that are relevant in today’s constant media bombardment such as labor, authenticity and copyrights.