Monday, July 27, 2009

Mohammadreza Mirzaei's The Encounters

Iranian photographer Mohammadreza Mirzaei's series The Encounters explores the prevalent trend of photographing other people photographing. Seen from an aerial perspective, however, the tourists in Mirzaei's images operate more as graphic elements in the photograph and less as symbols for any specific commentary on the nature of contemporary tourist culture. Although I tend to be wary of work that is too heavily aestheticized, the images from this project do transcend their detached geometry. Tim Clark, the founder, editor and director of the online magazine 1000 Words, noted this about The Enounters:

"What emerges is the idea that people seem locked into their insatiable craving to take pictures while on holiday more so than the actual experience of the spectacle itself."


From "The Encounters"
© Mohammadreza Mirzaei



From "The Encounters"
© Mohammadreza Mirzaei



From "The Encounters"
© Mohammadreza Mirzaei



From "The Encounters"
© Mohammadreza Mirzaei



From "The Encounters"
© Mohammadreza Mirzaei