Mina Boromond, who is in her final year of London Met’s Photography BA, was one of only four students in Europe whose work will be shown at a major Paris exhibition.
Date: 21 July 2021
Mina Boromand, final year student on London Met’s Photography BA programme, has been selected to exhibit her work at the Carte Blanche Student Awards 2021.
She is one of just four students from over 100 undergraduate or postgraduate photography or visual arts programmes in Europe to be chosen. Carte Blanche Students promises to kickstart the careers of the selected students, with the exceptional opportunity to take part in the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium.
The four laureates will present their selected project portfolios during Paris Photo at the Grand Palais, the world's largest international art fair for photography, and in a large format exhibition from mid-October through the end of November 2020 at Paris Gare du Nord, one of the world's most visited train stations.
Mina Boromand accidentally discovered that she had Aphantasia - a condition whereby a person is unable to voluntarily create a mental picture in their head - while listening to a BBC radio programme. People with aphantasia are unable to picture a scene, person, or object, even if it is familiar.
The Iranian-born, London-based artist decided to explore the lack of visual imagery in her mind through photography, soon realising that, rather than inhibiting her creativity, the condition enhanced it. Boromand’s images represent the emotional attachment she has to her memories, expressing her experience of displacement. She adds physical layers to photographic prints as a way to connect with her memories; a means of reconstructing the time and space that separates her from the past.
Mina said, "I am so grateful for the support, guidance, and encouragement that I got from my tutors throughout my four years of studying here. I had total freedom of experimenting for different projects and I used this freedom to tell my stories. It was amazing to be part of the London Met community and it’s a dream to learn and share my experience with the other students."
James Cant, Course Leader of London Met's Photography BA programme said, "For Mina's work to be selected for the Carte Blanche Student Award at Paris Photo from amongst Europe-wide undergraduate and postgraduate students is an exceptional achievement.
"We are so excited to see her work recognised at this international level. All of us in the School of Art, Architecture and Design would like to extend our congratulations to her on such an impressive accomplishment - we can't wait to see where her career goes next."
Mina’s work was selected for inclusion by a panel of expert judges: Sylvain Bailly, Director of Cultural Affairs, SNCF Gares & Connexions; Florence Bourgeois, Director of Paris Photo; Marc Lénot, art critic’ Thomas Mailaender, artist; Vincent Marcilhacy, Picto Foundation; Mélanie Rio, galerist; and Raphaëlle Stopin, curator and critic.
