shadi ghadirian

10Dec09

I recently learned about Shadi Ghadirian, an Iranian female photographer, and I can’t get her images out of my head:

This is from her series entitled “Like Everyday.” A stark depiction of a traditional Iranian woman, the series is composed of “women-objects” taking the place of a burka-clad woman’s face. You can see more of the series here.

The more you look at the photos, the more the objects begin to take on their own personality, and become more of a face than a domestic object. As a result, the stereotyped domestic object loses its power, and the viewer begins to imagine the woman behind the object’s symbolism.

Also love this image from Ghadirian’s Ghajar series:

Love the juxtaposition of modern and traditional, love the expression on the woman’s face, and love the defiant way she is posing, holding the radio. A lot of contradictions in this photo, making it an interesting statement on Iranian women and their struggle between tradition and modernization/globalization. Very interesting, topical works, and I definitely recommend checking out more of her stuff.