Visual Dialogues | The Book of Kings | Shirin Neshat & Fereydoun Ave | March 2019
Secret of Words
Mehran Mohajer & Sadegh Tirafkan
November 2006
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Total Arts Gallery at the Courtyard and Massoud Nader Present exhibition of Photography by Sadegh Tirafkan with support of Silk Road Gallery this exhibition is accompanied by photographs of Mehran Mohajer Sadegh Tirafkan is a persevering artist who navigates through time and culture in search of his place and identity as an Iranian man in the contemporary world. The medium of photography has become his main platform to construct powerful visual plays, using a combination of elements that he seasons sufficiently with symbolism.
The significance of symbolism throughout Tirafkan’s body of work comes from his Persian root in which direct dialogue is rarely used, but frequently replaced by symbolic languages. How do you inform a culture that has three thousand years of history, rich in tradition and essentially a homogenous and male dominated society? Tirafkan expresses his concerns through images of numerous self-portraits and portraits of friends. He once said, "I began photography by recording what surrounded me. Now I take what is around me in the studio and make it into what I see through the prism of my life and culture." Tirafkan poses himself and others in the studio time after time to explore the meaning of being a contemporary Iranian. Blending tradition, history and memory, he recreates visually compelling scenes that build visceral connection to his ancient country. And this is where the strength and beauty of Tirafkan's work lie.
In reinventing and revisiting Iranian tradition he is also criticizing and challenging his ancestors' long-standing authority. In spite the highly eloquent appearances; I see two hidden trends in his work, which the artist has perhaps introduced even without realizing it: a theatrical staging of all the historic drama of his country, all the painful events of which he experienced intensely, and a discreet journey towards a spirituality which emanates from his whole vision. Here, Tirafkan surreptitiously rejoins the mystical quest which remains, whether we like it or not, the key-stone of any metaphysical edifice of the Iranian world. Born in Iran in 1965, Tirafkan trained as a photographer at the University of Fine Arts in Tehran. Since the late 1990’s he has participated in numerous solo exhibitions and group shows, in Tehran, Paris and New York.
Tirafkan’s work offers an eloquent meditation on modern Iranian man’s relationship to his past and on his search for a meaningful identity in the present. Identity, history and memory have been central concerns in the work of non-western artists since the era of colonialism. Tirafkan, frequently using himself as a model, revisits and reinvents these themes in his series of enigmatic yet visually compelling photographs. He uses words and symbols to communicate with the audience and
Abstract & Lanscape
Mohseni Kermanshahi
February 2005
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A. Mohseni was born in 1960, in Kermanshah west of Iran. He started painting with Master Rahim Navesi before moving to Tehran. He held his first one-man show in 1994 and has come a long way from his humble beginnings. Landscape, traditional life and nature were always his main subjects to paint and after moving to UAE he found this passion in the local scenery. T
his exhibition would be an exceptional one in Mohseni’s career since he is entering a new period after 10 years of professionally painting landscapes and still life witch is still the close to Mohseni’s heart in a different way. Mohseni has participated in more than 40 solo and group exhibitions in Iran including Tehran Contemporary Art Museum, Australia, Kuwait and the UAE. Mohseni has won a special award from Tehran Contemporary Art Museum as the best Artist of the year in 1996. Mohseni has published 2 books, which are: 1. Nature in the painting of Abdol Hossein Mohseni 2. Painting of Abdol Hossein Mohsenis He is working on two new books at present.
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DARIUSH ZANDI
Born 1952
Tehran, Iran
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Dariush Zandi’s love of photography began as a child in his native Tehran, where he would spend summers helping at his local photography studio. Receiving his first camera at the age of eight, the camera has been his companion since then. His love of photography flourished during his university years while studying art, architecture and urban design in New York City. He later honed his photography skills during his film and photography studies in New York and California.
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Zandi, alongside a group of close friends and colleagues, developed the first art institute in Dubai in the early 1980s, Dubai Art Centre. While programming for design and architecture classes; he established the photography wing there, organizing lectures, exhibitions, and field trips.
His photos have appeared in numerous publications, books & magazines including Those Were The Days, Dubai: The Arabian Dream, 24 Hours Dubai, Sky Hunters, Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World, and Architectural Heritage of the Gulf (of which he is a co-author), and can be found in corporate collections such as Reuters, Land Rover, Emirates Airline and more. His commercial work, meanwhile, has been used in international ad campaigns by global brands, including Coca-Cola and Nestlé.
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By bringing the two areas of photography and architecture/urban planning together, Zandi’s focus is on how photography and architecture can work to preserve and renew urban spaces while honouring the cultural fabric of an area.
He has played an integral part in some of the UAE’s most important restoration projects, such as Sheikh Saeed House, and Dubai Museum, among others. Zandi has served as Chairman of the UAE Architectural Heritage Society and is the founder of two establishments, the photography studio Total Design and a gallery, Total Arts. Both are housed within The Courtyard also initiated by him as the first dedicated art space in Dubai.
