We Live in a Paradoxical Society

A review on Ramyar Manoochehrzadeh and Ali Najian's exhibition, by Ali Ettehad, Silk Road Gallery

The exhibition We Live in a Paradoxical Society is auspicious for two reasons: it is both an instance of the growing interest in artistic group work and shows the increasing popularity of staged photography among artists, a method which many Iranian artists attached to working in new media photography have dreamt of yet avoided due to the difficult stages required. Staged photography requires crew, actor-model, lighting, make-up and careful stage design, and in most cases the quality of the final photographic product plays an important role in the success of the concept. In their new collection, Ramyar Manoochehrzadeh and Ali Najian have not only done all the above in a brilliant way but surpassed the merely visual aspect of the works in focusing on the social subject of the dual situation of Iranian citizens. An Iranian citizen’s life is divided into two realms: inside and outside the private space. In recent decades, together with a shrinkage in public spaces, private spaces have tried to play a role similar to that of the public space in its international form, the difference being that those who use these spaces are appointed by the owner. Such categorisation has become the subject of the new collection of the works by these artists. The images in the series We Live in a Paradoxical Society include special moments from the everyday history of Iranians portrayed very truthfully.