Venice in Tehran - 2002-12-14

Venice in Tehran - 2002-12-14. If many of us were told that a photo exhibition about Venice has been set up, we might recall the same repetitive subjects we have seen on postcards. However, Behruz Nabati is an Iranian photographer who has broken those fixed and monotonous clichés in his photo exhibition titled 'Venice in Tehran.' This exhibition is being held from December 12 to December 19 at the Shahr-e Ketab Gallery in Tehran. Behruz Nabati, born in 1973 in Tehran with a degree in computer software, has pursued photography professionally for the past two years and has participated in several solo exhibitions at universities in Tehran and Mazandaran. In his recent exhibition, Nabati displays 41 black and white photographs and 5 color photographs. The interesting aspect of his works, in addition to depicting waterlogged streets and ancient buildings, is his focus on aspects of the life and customs of the people of Venice. For example, in the first image of the exhibition, foreign tourists with cameras are seen interacting with Venetians in masks, apparently participating in a carnival. In another photo, we encounter a simple funeral scene where two men in black carry a wooden coffin on a cart, with a solitary man, presumably a relative of the deceased, following behind. Additionally, one photo shows a disabled man in a wheelchair navigating alongside ancient buildings on beautiful cobblestones. Furthermore, in several of Nabati's photos, we see his abstract perspective of the historic city of Venice, among which a photo capturing the distorted reflection of a building in the water stands out. In fact, if someone does not know where this work is from, it is very unlikely they would realize the original context. The Iranian photographer also has a poetic glance at that vibrant city in Italy. For instance, one image shows a wicker basket placed on the edge of a boat by the river, interestingly adorned with a beautiful white ribbon on its handle. Most beautifully, there is a boat seen with an Eastern rug, perhaps Iranian, spread inside it. However, there are also two large gray boxes placed within that boat. Indeed, Nabati's photographs are subversive. Aren't they? Arash Irani for the Internet Unit, Persian Section of Voice of America.