Artist Statement
"Wage Earner" is a photographic exhibition exploring the journey of newcomers in Canada as they transition into the workforce. Inspired by personal experiences in a big-box store, the project captures the challenges faced by immigrants in finding employment and adjusting to Canadian life. Through poignant portraits and narratives, it highlights the resilience and struggles of individuals with impressive professional backgrounds who now wear standardized uniforms. The exhibition aims to provoke dialogue on immigration, identity, and integration. With interactive elements like panel discussions, it invites community engagement. "Wage Earner" seeks to foster empathy and understanding while challenging stereotypes. "Wage Earner" aspires to be more than just a collection of photographs; it aims to be a catalyst for empathy, understanding, and solidarity with newcomers in Canada. Through art, we have the power to amplify voices, challenge stereotypes, and foster a more inclusive society.
Since March 2022 I have been working part-time in a big-box store. Over time, I have become acquainted with co-workers whose situation parallels mine. We are newcomers who needed to find a job to meet our financial needs.
Getting to know my co-workers has revealed economic, cultural and language barriers that confront Canadian immigrants. In this work I focus on the adjustments immigrants must make with respect to employment and the cultural and professional identities they left behind when they came to Canada. Even though they arrived with stellar resumes from professional careers, finding similar employment in Canada is difficult and perhaps impossible.
It takes time and effort to deal with these issues, and immigrants typically handle even more challenges in their newly reconfigured lives. Newcomers to Canada may need a month, a year, or even a decade to resume their previous career paths. Some never return to their former careers, settling instead for the “temporary” job necessity demanded. In these portraits, the homogenized uniforms wage earners wear signal their current jobs and contrast with their personal environments, where more complex identities are suggested.
Through my observations and photographs, “Wage Earner” addresses a transitional gap newcomers in Canada face as they adjust to their new spaces, cultures, and identities.
Artist Bio
Saeed Abdollahi (he/him) is an accomplished Iranian architect and photographer who currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the University of Calgary and has been professionally engaged with photography as an artist and educator.
His work has received critical acclaim, including the Blue FIAP Ribbon from Photo Art PRAGUE 2018 Czech Republic in January 2018 and the 3rd prize in the series section for the “ZOL” collection at 16th International Exhibition TULLE France 2020. He has also received numerous admissions from international FIAP exhibitions from all over the world.
Saeed is passionate about the social documentary genre and aims to capture the lives of marginalized communities to raise awareness about their struggles. With a perspective from growing up in a historical city in Iran and later immigrating to Canada, Saeed’s work can contribute to promoting social change. He is interested in exploring the mental and emotional conflicts experienced by immigrants in Canada through visual ethnography, hoping to shed light on their human experiences.
saeedabdollahi.com
Instagram: @saeed__abd