Treasured wedding photograph gets selected for prestigious Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
A few years after the Father of Brighton photographer Moose Azim died, a couple saw her photographic work on the Kemptown Art Trail and asked her if she would be their wedding photographer. Azim’s Indian Father had always encouraged her to shoot weddings but until he died it was never of interest. Sixteen years later, a beautiful family moment captured in a very traditional photographic way, is on display at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
The year after her Dad died, Moose Azim had taken on a handful of wedding bookings alongside her commercial photography work, mainly out of curiosity and to negate regret. In the 90’s, informal, fly on the wall shots weren’t the norm for weddings and when working with rolls of film there was no room for mistakes. Weddings went against the grain for her artistic style. But, Azim brought her own style to couples that were looking for something different and became surprisingly satisfied with the task, delighting in the joy expressed by her clients. She also realised that the images she captured became precious memories for these families across generations. She worked hard to make each image count and would start working early and stay until the bride and groom left for their honeymoon.
Azim had only been living in Brighton for a year when the engaged couple met her on the art trail and they were so keen that she decided to take on the job. She took six rolls of full frame images at their wedding, hand printing them afterwards. Azim said “The couple said to me, ‘do what you like’; that’s the ultimate statement of trust, they loved my style and perspective.”
Now in its 249th year and with its first woman curator, The Royal Academy (RA) is famous for presenting a mix of known and unknown artists in the exhibition. It remains however, no mean feat for an unknown artist to get selected, as over 12,000 entries are received from across the globe.
“When considering those first few wedding bookings I always thought about what my Dad had said to me. My family had no interest in art, for many years my parents really didn’t understand why I had become so enamoured with the arts. Now, to have my photograph accepted and displayed for the public to see; I’m extremely happy and I know my Dad would be proud.”
Mostly, Azim takes on commercial photography work and rarely, weddings. She sells her prints online and in the smaller galleries. Manya’s Wedding, the photograph, is on display in a room that the RA say “celebrates the messy reality of life” at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London until 20th August but it can also be viewed and purchased at https://se.royalacademy.org.uk/2017/artworks/moose-azim/986 Other photography by Azim can be seen on Instagram and at www.mooseazim.com and soon images will also be available for direct purchase on the site.