Lot 70: AMIRALI GHASEMI

AMIRALI GHASEMI B. 1980 GOODBYE PARTY: TULIPS ON THE DINNER TABLE (FROM THE PARTY SCENES SERIES) signed, dated 2005 and numbered A.P. 1/2 on the reverse cibachrome print Image: 76 by 100cm.; 29 7/8 by 39 3/8 in. Overall: 91 by 115.5cm.; 35 7/8 by 45 1/2 in. Executed in 2005, this work is artist's proof 1/2 aside from an edition of 5.

Rose Issa, Ed., Iranian Photography Now, Ostfildern-Ruit 2008, p. 62, illustrated in colour
Exhibition Catalogue, Darmstadt, Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Vision - Aussicht aufs Leben, 2009, p. 56, illustrated in colour

Ghasemi's Party Scenes Series is a collection of digital photographs shot in a house party setting in Tehran. They represent the other side of Iranian life, that which lies behind closed doors and provides a rare glimpse into the party culture of the social elite and the evolving cultural terrain.

These intimate, real-life snapshots with erased faces, arms and other uncovered parts of the body is simultaneously a jibe at the censorship of 'nudity' by the religious mafia and a poignant reminder that such activity is prohibited. Yet rather than cloaking his characters in an oppressive layer of black, Ghasemi opts for a radiant white, symbolising beacons for the development of social freedom.