Ongoing terrorism and war have sent hoards of people scurrying for safe haven, especially in the Middle East. Iranian photographer Gohar Dashti has once again distilled recent events into pointed, elegantly rendered commentary in her latest series Stateless, on view at Robert Klein Gallery at Ars Libri in the South End through February 20, 2016.
“Stateless (nude), 2015” by Gohar Dashti (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Set against the austere, monochromic desert formations that represent the harsh circumstances befalling emigrants, Dashti stages spare, poignant scenes of desperation. A naked man curled in fear, a despondent young couple embrace, adrift beside their life’s belongings, a mother cradles her son’s dead body. References to classical Western art, such as the Pieta (feature image) or Odalisque, drive home the universality of human suffering and offer both an avenue of accessibility and a sense of heightened irony to Western viewers.
“Stateless (couple), 2015” by Gohar Dashti (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Dashti’s genius for delivering large, gorgeous vistas packed with an equally eloquent punch is keenly evident in Stateless. Each of the eight photographs in this show allows viewers the space to think and question within her emblematic framework of concealed outrage. Somehow, Dashti continues to walk that fine line between dogma and ambiguity with a magic touch.
“Stateless (mother and daughter), 2015” by Gohar Dashti (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
For more information about this show, go to: http://www.robertkleingallery.com/exhibits.php
Feature Image: “Stateless (pieta), 2015” (detail) by Gohar Dashti (courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Recent portrait of Leila Alaoui beside one of her photographs (source unknown).
We are ceaselessly reminded that we live in treacherous times, most recently with the loss of the young Franco-Moroccan photojournalist, Leila Alaoui, who was injured and later died from complications following terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso on January 16, 2016. Just 33 years old, she was on assignment for Amnesty International to focus on women’s rights there: http://www.pdnonline.com/news/obituaries/Photographer-Leila-Alaoui-33-Dies-of-Injuries-from-Burkina-Faso-Attack-15524.shtml So young and talented, such a terrible loss.
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