Moshen Rastani (1958) grins broadly, looks at me penetratingly, gestures, and puts his hand on his heart. "What is happening now, here, between you and me, in this conversation. That's what matters to me. We meet face to face. We communicate. Through each other's faces, we can visit the other's secret world. Such a camera is just a tool to make that contact."
Rastani was thrown into photography by the outbreak of the Iraq-Iran war. He emerged as the uncrowned king of Iranian war and documentary photography with his beautiful, hushed black-and-white portraits. He also did reportage in Lebanon and Bosnia & Herzegovina, and captures everyday life in Iran in his ongoing Iranian Family Project. Together with eight compatriots and kindred artists, his work is now on show at Francis Boeske Projects.
Over coffee in the gallery, he tells three stories about his photography. In careful, searching English. Sometimes supplemented by a translation app on fellow artist Amir Farhad's smartphone. Always with that engaging grin.
1. Living Dead
Rastani's hometown, the important port city of Khoramshar, was abandoned at the beginning of the lingering, eight-year conflict besieged by Iraqi forces. By necessity, he photographed the residents and how, totally overwhelmed and unprepared, they tried to arm themselves and defend their town.
Rastani: "Saleh, a good friend and war hero, pressed a fourth-hand camera into my hands. My first one! He said, 'Mohsen, take pictures of all these fighting people here for their families so their faces won't be forgotten.' I couldn't refuse. Without any idea what I was doing, I set to work. No one knew anything about guns, and I knew nothing about photography. But we had to defend ourselves. My camera became a weapon for peace. Those first few pictures were not too good, but I soon got the hang of it."
"Later, a strange thing happened. At a funeral of some fallen boys, I showed my photos to the grieving relatives. They kissed the face in the photo, instead of the body of their dead son. That affected me immensely. As if the photo would keep him alive forever. Since then, I have focused almost exclusively on the face in my portrait photography. That is the essence."
2. Two Carpets
In 1987, Rastani graduated from Tehran's Faculty of Fine Arts, and travelled to Lebanon to report on the civil war. With the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia, he had a new goal in mind: Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Rastani: "I sold two carpets to get money, and I trusted God. Via a long diversions, I travelled from Paris by train to Zagreb and arranged a press pass through-via. I was lucky enough to fly with a UN transport. I landed at a busted airport in Sarajevo. No idea what or how. I asked God: 'I don't know what to do. Help me to open the doors here.' After a cold night sleeping outside in a ditch - I had one apple to eat, and was almost out of money - I met an Egyptian soldier. He was also Muslim and helped me along. I also ran into a former colleague from Lebanon, and got in touch with an Australian photographer. Together we got well-paying UN jobs. With that money, I could go on for a while. With Mama Zibo and her son Zlatko - also met by chance - I rented a small room for DM 100. I then stayed there for almost 2.5 years."
3. White Screen
"In Sarajevo, I discovered the power of that white background, which has since become something of a trademark in my photographs. I was looking for a way to lift the people I was photographing out of their everyday context. So that the photo takes on something universally human. I had a white screen and stand made at a local craftsman there. The guy had miraculously repaired my remote camera before. We had become friends, even though we could hardly understand each other. I have unfortunately forgotten his name, but I do remember roughly where he lives. Maybe I should look him up again."
Rastani's work has been shown in Paris (MAM), Rome (MAXXI) and now in Amsterdam. Rastani: "Until recently, there was no way to get my pictures shown abroad. It is bittersweet that international recognition is only now coming. I have lost a lot of time."
Opening up - 9 artists from Iran can now be seen at Francis Boeske Projects in association with Klerkx International Art Management.
English (UK) 
Nederlands 
Français 
