Au seuil du temps
Photograph
2002 (photographed)
2002 (photographed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Rahimi wanted to capture Kabul on film but was not satisfied with the images he obtained with modern cameras. He felt they could not express his emotions and perceptions of the town sufficiently. During his search for a suitable medium he discovered the pin-hole camera. A simple tool, this type of camera is merely a wooden box with a hole. Most of the technical operations are left to chance - from estimating the correct distance for focusing to the exposure time. Pinhole cameras are still used today in Afghanistan by the akâsse fawri- zarouri, literally translated as the 'instant-urgent photographer', to capture portraits in the streets in front of a cloth backdrop. Atiq Rahimi used the pinhole camera to take pictures of people in everyday life situations and places around Kabul. As a result of the nature of experimentation and chance, these photographic prints are unique pieces that cannot be replicated. Grainy and dream-like, the process makes them appear to have been made in the late 19th or early 20th century; yet on closer inspection modern details, such as architecture of clothing, gives clues as to their modernity.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Titles |
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Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
Brief description | Photograph, 'Au seuil du temps [On the threshold of time]', from the series 'Le retour imaginaire', gelatin silver print, by Atiq Rahimi, Afghanistan, 2002 |
Physical description | Black and white photograph of a man sitting outside on a chair. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Unique |
Gallery label |
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Credit line | Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at the V&A and the British Museum |
Place depicted | |
Summary | Rahimi wanted to capture Kabul on film but was not satisfied with the images he obtained with modern cameras. He felt they could not express his emotions and perceptions of the town sufficiently. During his search for a suitable medium he discovered the pin-hole camera. A simple tool, this type of camera is merely a wooden box with a hole. Most of the technical operations are left to chance - from estimating the correct distance for focusing to the exposure time. Pinhole cameras are still used today in Afghanistan by the akâsse fawri- zarouri, literally translated as the 'instant-urgent photographer', to capture portraits in the streets in front of a cloth backdrop. Atiq Rahimi used the pinhole camera to take pictures of people in everyday life situations and places around Kabul. As a result of the nature of experimentation and chance, these photographic prints are unique pieces that cannot be replicated. Grainy and dream-like, the process makes them appear to have been made in the late 19th or early 20th century; yet on closer inspection modern details, such as architecture of clothing, gives clues as to their modernity. |
Associated objects |
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Bibliographic reference | Light from the Middle East: New Photography |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.967-2010 |
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Record created | February 1, 2011 |
Record URL |
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