Not on display

Parties

Photograph
2006 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Ghasemi, Amirali (photographer)
Place of origin
Iran (photographed)

Amirali Ghasemi lives and works in Tehran, where he trained as a graphic designer. The series Parties shows young Iranians socialising in private homes, their faces and other exposed flesh blocked out to protect their identities and also to call attention to the subversive nature of their actions under the current regime. Ghasemi states that depending on their contexts, his works 'are interpreted very differently and associated with subjects such as censorship, women's rights, the hijab, and Islam'.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleParties (series title)
Materials and techniques
Digital c-type print
Photographic Paper
C-Type Colour Photography
Digital Imaging
Photography
Brief description
Photograph, from the series 'Parties', digital c-type print, by Amirali Ghasemi, Iran, 2005
Physical description
A colour photograph depicting people standing near a table; their faces and limbs are devoid of detail, the shapes blocked out in white. The table is laid with party food and tulips in a vase.
Dimensions
  • Paper height: 76cm
  • Paper width: 100cm
  • Frame height: 78cm
  • Frame width: 102cm
  • Frame depth: 4cm
Marks and inscriptions
Signed, 2006 (Ink, lower right verso)
Gallery label
(September 2012)
Ghasemi alters what look like ordinary, spontaneous snapshots by blocking out exposed areas of flesh. By pre-emptively censoring his own images, he protects the identity of individuals photographed at unsanctioned private parties. The work evokes the censorship of imported magazines in Iran, where skirts are lengthened and women’s bodies are covered with strokes of black marker.

(Marta Weiss)
Credit line
Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at the V&A and the British Museum
Subjects depicted
Tables
Food
Parties
Place depicted
Iran
Summary
Amirali Ghasemi lives and works in Tehran, where he trained as a graphic designer. The series Parties shows young Iranians socialising in private homes, their faces and other exposed flesh blocked out to protect their identities and also to call attention to the subversive nature of their actions under the current regime. Ghasemi states that depending on their contexts, his works 'are interpreted very differently and associated with subjects such as censorship, women's rights, the hijab, and Islam'.
Associated object
E.355-2010 (Series)
Bibliographic reference
Light from the Middle East: New Photography
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.363-2010

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Record createdJune 9, 2010
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1159917/parties-photograph-ghasemi-amirali/
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