Traces of absence

 by Golnaz Taheri

Golnaz Taheri wishes to remove the disturbance of camera as a material being and get closer to the real ongoing ordinary life by means of always by her side Mobile Phone as an instrument of exposure and revelation. Her last 10 years’ passion has been taking pictures mostly from Interior landscapes with no critical approach; Rather than making nostalgic images of non- places; these spaces are specific indoors from rooms, kitchens, or living rooms of her own or of the others. A free-form snapshot catch of what already exists, without interfering to embellish anything. She is simply showcasing what she is observing around her. Though there’s no manipulation in her photos, these quiet poetic pictures do reveal her attachment to the chosen spaces, locations and subjects where human presence could profoundly be traced in its pure figurative absence. The lack of human presence is heavily palpable and even becomes a quality that increases the importance of the represented quotidian objects. Deeply echoing the notions of ‘absence’ and ‘silence’; these empty rooms and interior spaces are fully charged by ordinary domestic and personal objects or furnitures. Welcoming indoors with ready-to-dine tables, not only whole front but also side views of warm homey perspectives from bare walls, doors, windows, rugs, mirrors, lamps and beds containing stories of their absent owners. Empty but not evacuated, each and every corner has a story of human existence and time to narrate. ‏This way, each viewer experiences his own personal interpretation in front of these contemporary life shots.

Sahar Samadian