Born in Tehran in 1974, Ghadirian would continue to live in Tehran, eventually attending college there with a major in Photography. During her final years of college, Ghadirian's mentors pushed her to showcase her work in a group exhibition in 1998.
Ghadirian first photo series from this exhibition is one of her most recognizable projects to date. Ghadirian had access to the images of the Shah from the Qajar era when photography was first brought to Iran. In her work, she draws inspiration from the images, but infuses her own contemporary twist. She utilizes the clothing and makeup styles from the Qajar era, with painted backdrops that mimic the opulent nature of the period. However, Ghadirian has the women pose with a myriad of objects that one might connect with the capitalistic nature of the West. She uses Coke cans, boomboxes, USA tracksuits, bikes, and more to mess with the binary idea of life in the East versus the West.
While Qajar focused more on the plight of Western idealization of the East, some of her other projects use her identity of being a woman to show what it is like being a woman in Iran, but also in the world as a whole. Ghadirian's series entitled, Like Every Day, shows Iranian women in colorful, around-the-house chadors with everyday household items covering their faces. Ghadirian uses cleavers, brooms, kettles, pots, and more to act as the "face" for the women. One fun fact is that all the items used in this shoot were wedding gifts recently given to her, which planted the idea for this photo series in her head.
Both Qajar and Like Every Day utilize playing with space and time to form the ideas that Ghadirian is trying to showcase. While the emphasis on which identity Ghadirian showcases is different from series to series, Ghadirian always makes sure to put her whole personality into each photo. Qajar breaks the notion that the East is stuck in the past and is starkly different from the West with the use of "Western" products, but also plays into this notion with the adherence to Qajar Era style wardrobe. In the Like Every Day series, Ghadirian plays with the composition of space in her stylings of the women, as she has the household items replacing the women's faces. This series speaks to the way that women are seen in Iran, and all over the world, as feminity is viewed as being in the domestic sphere in most places.
Shadi Ghadiran is definitely a Pro-C creative for now, but I would even argue that she is a Big-C creative as well. Ghadirian was one of the first female photographers in Iran and crossed a multitude of boundaries that shook the people of Iran and the people of the world. Ghadirian uses her own personal experiences of being a woman in Iran and on Earth, and highlights the feelings and actions of women all around the world. Ghadirian's implementation of blurring the boundaries between space and time, East and West, or man and woman make her pieces one of a kind. I would say that this implementation is akin to collecting, as she is gathering all of her experiences and ideas to combine them into one coherent piece.
Sources
https://www.shadighadirian.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadi_Ghadirian
I completely agree that she is a Big-C creative. She's rewriting the narrative of what a photographer is supposed to look like. She also allows more representation in her artwork. Much art and photographs are of white people and mainstream culture, but her artwork allows more people to see themselves in work. It also forces people to look beyond their perspective and step into someone else's experiences.
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to her work in an art history class last year and I fell in love with it. It is amazing to me how she is able to express such complex ideas of womanhood and femininity with little props and styling. I agree that she is a Big-C creative as well as she has broken so many boundaries for Iranian women in the arts.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Ghadirian's photos are not only a product of creativity, but also a method of activism. Through her creative thinking processes and inspiration behind the various subjects of photos, Ghadirian is able to convey a powerful message in the most silent manner.
ReplyDeleteI love anachronisms and so this work is especially exciting for me. I think playing with ideas of time and history is definitely a creative effort of note. Labeling her under collecting is a smart choice and absolutely apparent in the work.
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