Iran, Untitled

A nostalgic and silent landscape in the outskirts of Tehran is the setting of the last series by Iranian photographer Gohar Dashti who protrays small life shots, echoing the grace of Japanese haiku.

Already highly esteemed among the international artistic community, Gohar Dashti belongs to that generation of young Iranians who were born in a rather complex era, set between the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the violent Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).

A tormented past intermingled with the declaration of a present, which is still set between the desire to move on, and the will to preserve cultural and religious fundamentalist Islamic traditions. These are the basis from which this promising Iranian photographer takes inspiration. The outcome is to be seen in a creative symmetry: here, the analysis of the human psyche set against the history of a strongly contradictory country, plays an essential part.

Gohar Dashti, <i>Iran, Untitled</i>, 2013 — Gohar Dashti, *Iran, Untitled*, 2013

Iran, Untitled is the last series executed by Gohar Dashti. The setting once again changes and here we are on the outskirts of Tehran, a nostalgic and silent landscape surrounding us. We see small life shots, echoing the grace of the traditional Japanese haiku, renowned for being able to put down the intensity of an emotion into words.

Iran, Untitled will be on show from 24 October 2013 until 24 January 2014, at the Milan-based art gallery Officine dell’Immagine, within the retrospective of the young Iranian artist "Inside Out", curated by Silvia Cirelli.

Gohar Dashti was born in Ahvaz (Iran) in 1980 and now lives and works in Tehran. She graduated from the Fine Art University of Tehran in 2003 and specialised with a Master in Photography in 2005. She took part in many artist’s residencies and won scholarships such as the DAAD award (2009-2011), Visiting Arts (1mile 2project), Bradford/London, UK (2009), International Arts & Artists (Art Bridge), Washington DC, USA (2008). Several exhibitions have been organised in various museums, such as the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (JP), the Fine Art Museum in Boston (USA), the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art (TW), the Devi Art Foundation in Gurgaon (IN) and the Grimmuseum in Berlin (Germany). She also took part in Festivals and Biennials, like the Asian Art Biennial (2013), the Fotofestival in Oslo (2013), Le Printemps de Septembre Festival in Toulouse (2012) and the Photoquai in Paris (2009).