Born in Morocco to Berber and Hispanic parents, Zahrin Kahlo straddles a triad of cultures. At the age of five her family left their native country, like many Moroccan families sharing dreams of a better life. Kahlo went on to pursue classical studies, receiving a degree in Foreign Literature at Ca’Foscari University of Venice, in Venice, Italy. After graduating, and inspired by the lands and cultures described by her favourite writers, Kahlo returned to education, commencing a degree in art studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Italy, with a focus on photography from Asia.

Sensual and explorative in tone, Kahlo’s photographic works navigate the heterogeneity of female identity. Casting herself as the protagonist against simple backgrounds, Kahlo assumes the character of a woman disavowing assimilation with any one cultural identity. The works take on a political assertion and reject adherence to a prescribed model of femininity. Creating these photographs acts as a form of liberation for Kahlo, they are a necessary mode of representing female intimacy, replete with her unconscious, her fantasies, memories, and spectres.