Volcano
Gohar Dashti's photo essay about the dangers that lurk
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The photographer, Gohar Dashti, is known for operating in a space between reality and fantasy. At first glance, the scene seems mundane: a father folds laundry in his backyard while his two daughters play. The photo looks staged, meticulously constructed even. But a close look will show the tail of a giant creature emerging from a children's play tent. In another photograph, a small art gallery is packed with people laughing and joking, looking at paintings. Again, it feels produced, deliberate. And once again, the tail of a mythical beast is there, disappearing up the stairs into an adjacent room. Each of the photographs in this series, called “Volcano,” are snapshots of Iranians doing everyday tasks with big smiles. But there's a surreal undercurrent of foreboding.
GOHAR DASHTI is a Tehran-based photographer who creates large-scale photographs with a focus on social issues. Her work is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Smithsonian (Washington, DC).