Maryam Takhtkeshian
Exhibition of photography & video by Maryam Takhtkeshian
25 Sep. – 21 Oct.
This series was photographed using an Agfa Isolette I camera on black and white film stock that had passed its expiry date. This model was first produced during WWII, and known as the ‘Soldiers’ Camera’. The expired negatives create enigmatic images, which also hide the soldiers’ identity. In fact, the soldiers all look the same, as their identity has disappeared in their uniform and their shared purpose to fight for the homeland.
The portraits are a combination of archival images of the Iran-Iraq war and photographs of the Martyrs’ Cemetery, printed on glass with the “Wet Collodion” technique; they are both fragile but immortal images. The video, by using archival images of the war, narrates the life during the war, a testimony of memories that do not return to be recounted in person.
This series was photographed using an Agfa Isolette I camera on black and white film stock that had passed its expiry date. This model was first produced during WWII, and known as the ‘Soldiers’ Camera’. The expired negatives create enigmatic images, which also hide the soldiers’ identity. In fact, the soldiers all look the same, as their identity has disappeared in their uniform and their shared purpose to fight for the homeland.
The portraits are a combination of archival images of the Iran-Iraq war and photographs of the Martyrs’ Cemetery, printed on glass with the “Wet Collodion” technique; they are both fragile but immortal images. The video, by using archival images of the war, narrates the life during the war, a testimony of memories that do not return to be recounted in person.
