BROWNBOOK

Tonight, the Ayyam Gallery will launch an exhibition by an Iranian photographer at the their art centre in Al Serkal Avenue, Dubai.

As his first solo exhibition outside of Iran, Majid Koorand Beheshti will showcase the extent of his imagination through a collection of experimental images portraying scenes of destroyed urban spaces and shadowy characters that attempt to give viewers a new perspective on life in the artist’s home country.

Telling Spaces is a combination of two series, showcasing Beheshti’s distinct styles that focuses on space and the geometric styling of architecture. It expresses the society in which Beheshti lives in and draws on the time after the Islamic revolution, when the country was in war.

‘It was a very difficult time, especially for us artists who held such an ideological point of view and were now wandering around the ruins of the damaged city,’ explains Beheshti.

The environment that Beheshti presents to the audience highlights the anguish, chaos, demolition and violence that the country has witnessed.

Beheshti says: ‘With direct references to an armed military presence, the bygone of the Persian Empire and various deaths of the city’s youth, these images are of grieving for a lost city and disappearing heritage. The citizens are almost trapped or imprisoned in this sad reality.’

Beheshti didn’t begin his career as a photographer; he was initially interested in painting. Yet in 2000, when he won an award for the best photo exhibition of the year in Tehran he became well known for his photography.

Beheshti says: ‘My particular interest in painting goes back to my teenage years, which coincided with the Islamic Revolution in Iran.’

With regards to his photography, the artist says that he has no particular message, but relies heavily on the audience’s interpretation. ‘The effect it has on the viewer does determine whether my work transmits something important or not. In fact, when a piece of artwork gets attention, it’s already a great reward for its creator. The viewer is important to me; he is not passive but he does participate in the process of an artwork’s meaning,’

*Telling Stories will run from 10th September until 11th October at Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz, Dubai.

Photography: Supplied