Heden

• Photographer
  Nadia Issa, United States
• Website
  https://nadiosa.wixsite.com/nadiaissa7
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/nadia.issa11/

In Swedish and Danish "HEDEN" means “now”. I see an analogy
between this word and the word Eden. Indeed, Sweden often
appears as a Promised Land for the refugees.The purpose of this
photo essay is to illustrate the daily life of Syrian refugees in
Sweden. I believe that its messages is timely and appropriate.
There are approximately 41,768 Syrian refugees in Sweden, and it
is the highest figure in Europe. This photo-essay aims to take a
closer look at the problem of refugees in a broader context than
just focusing on the material aspect of their life. I chosen Sweden
because of the high level of humanitarian aid in this country,
therefore the living standards of refugees are very good. This
photo essay is bringing up the issue of the psychological aspect of
being a refugee, a live in isolation from your own culture and
tradition. My observation shows that the daily life of refugees
focuses on anticipation. They are waiting for the sun, for the letter
with information about granting permanent residence card, for
information from the families left behind. It is a state of
permanent suspension and living in constant tension. In these
photographs I tried to capture the state of anticipation which
interfuses with every other aspect of daily life. I was searching for
sign of normality, not trauma, although the latter is always
undeniably present.

Born in Warsaw. Photographer, multimedia artist, graphic designer, academic teacher. Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Art & Design at Missouri State University. She got her PhD in Visual Arts in 2020 (Department of Graphic Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). From 2016-2020 she has been working at the Faculty of Media Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (assistant).

Awards Winner of the Rector’s scholarship for the best students and the best Ph.D. students, the Zaiks Scholarship. Winner of the contest “Debuts”, promoting the most talented young Polish photographers. Her works have been featured in individual exhibitions (among others: Gallery Obok ZPAF (Association of Polish Art Photographers) in Warsaw, Brick City Gallery (level 2) in the United States, Centre of Contemporary Art in Trnava Slovakia) and in numerous group exhibitions (among others: the Singer Jewish Culture Festival in Warsaw, the Mazovian Museum in Płock, the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace in Wilanów, and the International Photography Festival in Łódź). She is often a curator of student exhibitions, author of papers in scientific monographs, conducts workshops on image perception and contemporary techniques of photographic image implications. Her works have been published, among other places, in the pages of Krytyka Polityczna [Political Critique], Estetyka i Krytyka [Aesthetics and criticism], and Vieworld magazine.