We Live in a Paradoxical Society

At home, we are free to think, dress and behave as we wish. Outside, we follow other rules and play another role. Over the years, this double life has become second nature for many Iranians, especially in the urban middle class, and has quietly split their lives and their thoughts in two.

In these staged photographs, Ali & Ramyar explore this divide and the fear and indifference it can bring. The people in the images are not themselves but actors, standing in for anyone living in this society. Each picture belongs to a wider story, where the line between reality and imagination, between documentary and fiction, can no longer be drawn.