EXTREME EXPOSURES

Iranian artist Azadeh Akhlaghi’s works of staged photography currently on display at a Delhi gallery resurrects the troubled histories of Iran, failed revolutionaries, as well as the heroism of everyday resistance.

- PANKIL JHAJHRIA

WHEN Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, was overthrown during the 1979 Iranian Revolution — also known as the Islamic Revolution — it marked the end of monarchy in Iran and the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty. Widespread public discontent with the Shah’s rule sparked the uprising, paving the way for the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Ruhollah Khomeini.

Many prominent figures — including politicians, poets, activists, writers, and students — lost their lives during the revolution. Iranian photographer Azadeh Akhlaghi’s photo series ‘By An Eyewitness’, through 17 staged photographs, reconstructed the tragic deaths of these individuals. The series is part of the exhibition ‘A Rising Tide: Women Artists from the Alkazi Collection’, on view at Delhi’s Art Heritage Gallery until November 18.

Reviving the uncaptured

After completing her master’s degree in computer science in Melbourne, Akhlaghi returned to Tehran at 26 and started working as an assistant director to Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami. And soon enough, the young photographer realised her love for the camera. “I started making documentaries and short films, and that’s when I realised I was actually drawn to photography,” she recalls.