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PHOTOGRAPHY

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

ELECTION POSTERS DURING 1990S

"This series of photography featured a compelling series of street posters, exploring themes of identity, erasure, and the ephemeral nature of urban expression. Through a unique visual language that combined tearing, layering, and distortion, Modaressi recontextualized the aesthetics of public imagery, reflecting on the impermanence of human presence in the urban landscape.

 

The series, characterized by fragmented portraits and deconstructed faces, created a dialogue between visibility and obscurity, mirroring the tension between personal identity and collective anonymity in public spaces. The raw textures and distressed surfaces of the works evoked the passage of time, memory, and forgotten narratives, inviting viewers to engage with the emotional and political undertones of these altered images.

 

Modaressi’s approach transformed familiar urban visuals into poetic, almost haunting reflections of contemporary existence, reinforcing her ability to weave conceptual depth with aesthetic boldness in her photographic practice. " By Kaveh Golestan, published in the daily news Hamshahri and endorsed by Bahman Jalali

self Portrait

"In Self-Portrait, Banafshe Modaressi deconstructs the traditional concept of self-representation, weaving together urban decay, ephemeral textures, and fragmented landscapes to create a deeply introspective series. Rather than presenting a conventional depiction of identity, she transforms the environment itself into a reflection of the self—a canvas of eroded surfaces, discarded marks, and transient imprints of human presence.

 

Through layers of worn textures, splashes of color, and abstract compositions, Modaressi captures a dialogue between the external world and inner emotions, illustrating how identity is shaped by both personal experience and external forces. The interplay of graffiti-like strokes, distressed surfaces, and fleeting human elements evokes themes of isolation, resilience, and the fluidity of existence.

 

In this series, the self is not confined to a singular image but is instead a collection of traces, memories, and fleeting moments, dissolving into the fabric of the world. Self-Portrait challenges the viewer to reconsider what it means to depict oneself—not through a face, but through the textures of lived experience, the erosion of time, and the remnants of presence left behind."

Abbas Kiarostami

Street Photography, walk

Traces of Absence: The Cemetery Series

In Traces of Absence, Banafshe Modaressi explores the fragility of memory, the passage of time, and the erosion of personal and collective identity through a series of evocative cemetery photographs. These images capture weathered gravestones, faded portraits, and the crumbling walls of burial sites, creating a poignant reflection on loss, impermanence, and the quiet persistence of remembrance.

 

The framed photographs of the deceased, hanging precariously on deteriorating walls, seem to defy time, yet their fading presence speaks to the slow dissolution of identity into history. Cracked surfaces, decayed inscriptions, and abandoned spaces evoke a sense of neglect and forgetting, while the solemn stillness within the images invites contemplation on the human desire for permanence in the face of inevitable decay.

 

Through subtle compositions and muted tones, Modaressi transforms these spaces into silent archives, where the personal and the historical merge. The portraits, once symbols of presence and legacy, now become ghostly echoes of a past slipping away, reminding us of the delicate balance between memory and oblivion.

 

This series is not just a documentation of forgotten burial sites—it is a meditation on how we remember, what remains, and what ultimately fades. Modaressi’s lens captures the unseen poetry of absence, allowing viewers to engage in a dialogue between what was, what is, and what will be lost to time. Equinix Art Gallery