Cast Out of Heaven
Iranian photographer Hashem Shakeri’s series Cast Out of Heaven examines the urban developments that exist as a network of satellite cities surrounding the Iranian capital of Tehran. There are some who may refer to these areas as ghost towns, others who consider them examples of an unkept promise of paradise. The residents of these places exist in a state of near-exile as a result of the lacking infrastructure required to bring a city to life.
Throughout Cast Out of Heaven, Shakeri depicts these places as eerie, empty, and yet strangely beautiful. His photographs of residential towers and empty streets are framed by the vast emptiness of Iran’s desert landscape. For various reasons, including US sanctions and government mismanagement that have helped to spur an economic downturn in the country, the occupants of these cities struggle with hours-long commutes, a lack of educational and healthcare resources, and lives that have little prospects of improving. What began as a massive national affordable housing project has so far resulted in a further crippling in the quality of life for those who have no other choice but to live in these cities.
Gregory Eddi Jones
Cast Out of Heaven 1 Cast Out of Heaven 2 Cast Out of Heaven 3 Cast Out of Heaven 4 Cast Out of Heaven 5 Cast Out of Heaven 6 Cast Out of Heaven 7 Cast Out of Heaven 8 Cast Out of Heaven 9 Cast Out of Heaven 10 Cast Out of Heaven 11 Cast Out of Heaven 12 Cast Out of Heaven 13 Cast Out of Heaven 14 Cast Out of Heaven 15 Cast Out of Heaven 16 Cast Out of Heaven 17 Cast Out of Heaven 18 Cast Out of Heaven 19 Cast Out of Heaven 20
Archival prints from this series are available to order.
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