Mehran Mohajer | "Between & Non-Between": Dastan+2

Dastan is pleased to announce the opening of Mehran Mohajer’s solo photography exhibition “Between & Non-Between” at Dastan+2 along with the launch of a book with the same title. The exhibition will be open for public viewing from January 27 through February 12, 2017. This is Mehran Mohajer’s first solo exhibition at Dastan. His works have been featured in over 10 solo exhibitions and many group shows around the world.

Mehran Mohajer (b. 1964, Tehran, Iran) is one of the most prominent Iranian photographers of his generation. His influence has been broad both within his contemporaries and later generations due to his unique style, and his work as a leading instructor. Coming from a background in linguistics, Mohajer’s works have been often dealing with the very concept of expression, the extremes of implication and the margins of transcendentalism.

This series’ title, “Between & Non-Between”, refers to the famous line from Rumi’s Masnavi, “Sight and Heart are between Two Fingers” (Rumi, Masnavi-I Ma'navi, Book III), itself a reference to a saying by the Prophet: “A believer’s heart is between the two fingers of God —God may decide to strengthen it, or may choose to push it towards perversion.” Mohajer’s explorations inspired by mystical literature allude to many of his previous works, as well as hiding them in shadows and lights.

Ghazaleh Hedayat writes on this series: “We can assume that in his latest collection, and given his penchant for semantics, Mehran Mohajer is bringing an indexical gesture into the frame of photography. With his index finger he refers us to what he wants. In this way, he seems to be pointing to the indexical aspect of a photograph —the trace of has been as well as is— lest we may feel the urge to go beyond the frame. With his two fingers, he is keeping us deep inside things. We are beholding what is but also the reality outside of it. This referential order is constantly being reversed in the photographs.”

The book that follows the exhibition is titled “Between & Non-Betweens”. It includes a foreword by Ghazaleh Hedayat in Persian. The text is translated to English by Sohrab Mahdavi. The book is designed by Studio Kargah with Aria Kasaei as the artistic director. The book is published by Dastan Gallery and printed at Ravi printing.