Mehran Mohajer

 

Mehran Mohajer (b. 1964, Tehran, Iran) is one of the Iranian photographers who have  greatly influenced many generations. As he comes from a linguistics background, his work has a connotation and denotation behind it. He explores the boundaries of implication through his work of art.

Particular series of his works are as Cityscapes of Tehran 1990, Tehran Undated 2009, Tehran Closed 2013. These go beyond a mere reproduction of the pictorial structure of Western photographers, or  a mere imitation of a certain cityscape photography practice. The city is not mostly depicted in his photographs, the time and place are mainly blurred or hidden, and lots of vacant spaces and few people are there.  

His works on this webpage are from his Hal-e Gozashteh translating to the feeling of the past or the present of the past series 2014. Dr. Abbas Daneshvari  wrote on his exhibition in Ag Galerie, 2014, that ” His photographs are combined structures of past and present: the past, extant in fragmentary forms, and the present asserted as innovative recourse to resurrect and preserve the past. ” He added that Mohajer’s art has always displayed a heteronymous quality which neither are easily verbalized. In his next solo exhibition in Dastan Gallery, called Between and non-between, 2016, he places his index finger between the camera and his subject, or he sees his subject between his fingers. The viewers are observing   what is over there in the created image but also the reality outside of it.

  • MA. Linguistics. University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran
  • BA. Photography. University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran
  • Teaching Experience
  • Lecturer. Faculty of Fine Art. University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2017. “Between and Non-Between”. Dastan+2. Tehran, Iran
  • 2015. “The Present Past”. Ag Galerie. Tehran, Iran
  • 2013. “Closed”. Azad Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2012. “Nothingness”. Azad Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2011. “Things and Lines”. Azad Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2010. “Tehran Undated”. Azad Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2008. “The Memories of an Indolent, Fatigued Flâneur”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2007. “Camera Rosea”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2006. “Expired History”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2005. “Undistributed Packages”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2004. “Migrant Packages”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2003. “The Light is Off, The Room is Dark”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2001. Golestan Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2000. Golestan Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 1998. Golestan Gallery. Tehran, Iran

Group Exhibitions

  • 2016. “Small Image, Large Reflection: Iranian Contemporary Photography”. Ag Galerie. Tehran, Iran
  • 2015. “Allusions”. Emkan Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2014. “Recalling Future”. SOAS, University of London. London, UK
  • 2011. “Television”. Mohsen Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2010. “Fear-land”. Azad Art Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2009. “One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran”. Intersection for the Arts. San Francisco, CA, USA
  • 2009. “Golden Gates”. F&A Projects. Paris, France
  • 2009. Member of the Curatorial Team. Photoquai, 2nd Biennale. Musée du Quai Branly. Paris, France
  • 2009. “Tehran, Inside Out”. Forum Schlossplatz. Aarau, Switzerland
  • 2009. “165 Years of Iranian Photography”. Musée du Quai Branly. Paris, France
  • 2008. “Lion Under the Rainbow”. D.ART. Athens, Greece
  • 2008. “Red Light”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2008. “Green Illusion”. Aria Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2007. “Image, Text and Money”. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2006. “Ey Iran!”. Gold Coast Arts Centre. Queensland, Australia
  • 2006. “The Veiled Mirror: Contemporary Iranian Photography”. De Santos Gallery. Houston, TX, USA
  • 2005. “Téhéran, Iran, 7 Photographes de ce Temps”. Galerie Baudoin Lebon. Paris, France
  • 2005. DFOTO: San Sebastian International Contemporary Photography and Video-Art Fair Avda. San Sebastian,
  • Spain
  • 2005. Photo London. London, UK
  • 2004. “Far Near Distance”. House of World Cultures. Berlin, Germany
  • 2004. “Musulmanes, Musulmans, un monde fait de tous les mondes”. Parc de la Villette. Paris, France
  • 2004. Paris Photo – Le Carrousel du Louvre. Paris, France
  • 2003. “Haft”. Boulogne Billancourt, France
  • 2002. Silk Road Gallery. Tehran, Iran
  • 2001. “Regards Persans”. Espace Electra. Paris, France
  • 2001. Photographic Revolution (A Retrospective of Iranian Photography after Revolution)
  • 1996. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1996. Second International Photo Biennale
  • 1994. Haft Samar Gallery, Tehran
  • 1994. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1994. First International Photo Biennale
  • 1993. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1993. Fifth Annual Photo Exhibition – First Prize
  • 1991. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1991. Fourth Annual Photo Exhibition
  • 1990. Kandeloos Gallery, Tehran
  • 1990. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1990. Third Annual Photo Exhibition
  • 1989. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1989. Second Annual Photo Exhibition
  • 1987. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
  • 1987. First Annual Photo Exhibition — First Prize