Abbas Kowsari Shade of Earth
Artist statement
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Iranians visit the fronts of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) during their New Year (Noruz) holiday, in the last week of March.
This trip is called Rahian-e Noor, or, Caravan of Light.
The pilgrims, often the family members of those who died during the conflict, travel with buses from all over the country to visit the places where the fighting was the heaviest. Iran lost over half a million soldiers during the eight-year-trench war with neighbouring Iraq.
About the photographer
1970, Iran
Iranian
Teheran, Iran
About Abbas Kowsari
Abbas Kowsari was born in 1970, in Iran. He graduated in 1988 with a diploma from Shariati High School in Tehran, where he continues to live and work.
Kowsari has worked for over ten leading Iranian newspapers, most of them now banned from publishing. He currently works as the senior photo editor for E’temad newspaper in Tehran.
His photos have been published in Paris Match, Der Spiegel and Colors magazine of Benetton, along with several other international publications.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
- 2006-present Photo Editor E’temad Newspaper
- 2007-present Photo Editor Sarmayeh Economics Newspaper
- 2003-present Photo Editor Haft Monthly Arts Magazine – Closed Down
Exhibitions:
- Shade of Water – Shade of Earth, Aaran Art Gallery Tehran, 2008
- Muslims Muslims, La Vilette Paris, 2004
- Portraits, French Embassy Damascus, 2003
- Iran Contemporary Photographers, Assar Art Gallery Tehran, 2002
Earth shortlist
Nadav Kander, Yangtze, The Long River, 2006-2007
Darren Almond, Fullmoon, 1998-2010
Christopher Anderson, Capitolio, 2004-2009
Sammy Baloji, Memory, 2006
Edward Burtynsky, Quarries, 1991-2006
Andreas Gursky, Body of Work, 2002
Ed Kashi, Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta, 2004-2006
Naoya Hatakeyama, Blast, 1995-2010
Abbas Kowsari, Shade of Earth, 2007-2008
Yao Lu, New Mountain and Water, 2007
Edgar Martins, The Diminishing Present, 2005-2008
Chris Steele-Perkins, Mount Fuji, 2000-2001