© Newsha Tavakolian, Portrait of Somayeh, a divorced teacher from Tehran, 2014, as featured in Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album (2014). Photograph. Courtesy of Newsha Tavakolian.
Expositions du 27/11/15 au 4/3/2016 Terminé
prince Claus Fund Gallery Herengracht 603 1017 Amsterdam Pays-Bas
The Prince Claus Fund Gallery in Amsterdam welcomes you to Newsha Tavakolian's solo exhibition I know why the rebel sings, running November 27 through March 4, curated by Vali Mahlouji. From war reportage to compelling artistic portraits, I know why the rebel sings takes an unprecedented look at Tavakolian's photographic œuvre. Tavakolian is the recipient of the 2015 Principal Prince Claus Award.prince Claus Fund Gallery Herengracht 603 1017 Amsterdam Pays-Bas
"From the terror of war to the oft-forgotten realities of those forced to pick up the pieces in its aftermath, this expansive exhibition of Newsha Tavakolian's photography creates a fluid dialogue between her moving coverage of conflicts, her candid exposé of humanitarian tragedies and her aesthetic explorations of life in Tehran, with intimate forays into the private lives of friends and acquaintances.
© Newsha Tavakolian
I know why the rebel sings, for the first time, integrates Tavakolian's stirring warzone images and NGO projects with her more formally conceived portraits. It considers her photographic practice as a whole and examines her journalism as an integral component of it. Meditative journeys of daily experiences in Blank Pages of an Iranian Photo Album and self-consciously staged, ordered scenes of characters in the 'Look' series sharply contrast with the raw urgency captured in a bloody ambush in Iraq or the harsh reality of a training camp of Syrian Kurdish female militias preparing to fight ISIS, as featured in On the War Trail. Tavakolian's journalistic output is considered beyond the narrative and visual strictures inherent in press formats, in relation to the wider themes that inform her oeuvre.
© Newsha Tavakolian
Masterfully composed moments of quietude under the omnipotent shadow of terror are highlighted in The Girl in Red. The Girl at the Desk dominates the Ghana room, a moving image drawing attention to the human figure. Iran Walls breaks away from formal serial compositions and creates new visual dialogues across series, allowing for previously unmade connections. The exhibition ends with a selection of her prolific publications and news stories, right up to the recent terror attack in Paris."
–From the curatorial statement by Vali Mahlouji
