Saeid Habil

The Witness Room / Portraits and stories

Portraits

Portraits of people whose work, ideas and presence carry a story. Photographed by Saeid Habil.

Enter the series

The portrait collection

People in The Witness Room

All portraits in one continuing series, photographed by Saeid Habil. Select a portrait to read more.

Portrait of Jennifer Ogole OBE laughing during a portrait sitting
01 / Social entrepreneur

Jennifer Ogole OBE

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Portrait of French filmmaker and sound explorer Vincent Moon
02 / Filmmaker & sound explorer

Vincent Moon

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Black-and-white portrait of conceptual artist Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg
03 / Conceptual artist · Sculptor · Art lecturer

Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg

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Low-key portrait of occultist, psychonaut and writer Julian Vayne
04 / Occultist · Psychonaut · Writer

Julian Vayne

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Low-key portrait of multidisciplinary artist Esha Sadr
05 / Multidisciplinary artist · Filmmaker · Writer

Esha Sadr

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Portrait of Jennifer Ogole OBE wearing a patterned headwrap

01 / Social entrepreneur and youth advocate

Jennifer Ogole OBE

Jennifer Ogole is a British social entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of BANG Edutainment, a Brent-based charity supporting disadvantaged children and young people. Her sustained commitment to youth and community work was recognised with an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours.

Together, these portraits reveal two complementary sides of her presence: the quiet resolve of a community leader and the warmth and openness behind her work with young people.

Read Jennifer's profile at BANG Edutainment
Jennifer Ogole laughing during a portrait sitting
Portrait of French filmmaker and sound explorer Vincent Moon

02 / Independent filmmaker and sound explorer

Vincent Moon

Vincent Moon is a French filmmaker and sound explorer whose nomadic practice has taken him around the world for more than two decades. A co-creator of La Blogothèque's Concerts à emporter, he later developed the Petites Planètes collection—an open-source archive of more than 1,300 films documenting popular and sacred music, trance ceremonies and experimental sound.

Working outside conventional production and distribution systems, Moon releases his films and recordings freely under Creative Commons. In this portrait, the illuminated, richly patterned scarf becomes the only vivid colour against the darkness—quietly reflecting a life shaped by travel, listening and encounters across cultures.

Visit Vincent Moon's website

03 / Conceptual artist · Sculptor · Art lecturer

Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg

Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg (born 1977 in Tehran) is a Washington, DC-based conceptual artist working across sculpture, painting, performance, video and installation. His practice explores compassion, particularly experiences forgotten, censored or left unseen by social norms. Moving between socio-political events and intimate personal narratives, his work forms both a personal archive and a cultural testimony.

Since earning his BA from Iran's University of Art and Architecture in 2001, he has contributed to the development of new-media art in Iran, particularly performance and video art. He is an active member of the Iranian Society of Painters, the Iranian Society of Sculptors and the Iranian Promotion of Visual Arts.

His work includes fourteen solo exhibitions and seventeen original performance pieces, alongside more than seventy group exhibitions, festivals, expos and biennales across the United States, Iran, Canada, Europe, Australia, North Africa, the Middle East and China.

Read Ramin's artist profile
Black-and-white portrait of conceptual artist Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg looking upward
Low-key portrait of Julian Vayne seated against a dark background

04 / Occultist · Psychonaut · Writer

Julian Vayne

Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar, occultist, psychonaut and author whose work spans more than four decades of esoteric culture. Moving between magic, shamanism, psychedelic practice and earth-centred spirituality, he has written widely, taught internationally and helped shape conversations around psychedelic ceremony, integration and compassionate forms of practice.

Julian is one of those remarkable people I was fortunate enough to meet. Hearing about the path he has taken—and his generous, humane perspective on people and the world around him—was deeply meaningful to me. This portrait grew from that encounter: an opportunity not only to photograph him, but to witness the curiosity, openness and care that run through his work.

Visit Julian Vayne's website

05 / Multidisciplinary artist · Filmmaker · Writer

Esha Sadr

Esha Sadr-Eshkevari is a Washington, DC-based multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker and writer whose practice moves across performance, video, installation, sculpture and text. Her intercultural and interdisciplinary work has been presented through exhibitions and residencies in Iran, the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Morocco and beyond.

She earned an MA from the Art and Architecture University in Tehran and undertook doctoral studies in theatre, film and media at Charles University in Prague and the University of Vienna. Alongside her visual practice, she has published four books and written about art and cinema since 2008.

Since 2014, she has also created video works and interview documentaries for The Memorable Hands, a museum project initiated by Ramin Etemadi-Bozorg to honour influential Iranian artists during their lifetimes.

Read Esha's artist profile
Low-key portrait of multidisciplinary artist Esha Sadr resting her face against her hand

The series continues

Every portrait begins with an encounter.

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