Aydin Matlabi’s photographs of Iran do not match the expected photojournalist tenor; rather, they take on an extremely personal, artistic form. His current exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), Landscape, Revolution, People, exemplifies this perfectly. Born in Iran but raised in Montreal, Matlabi possesses a unique voice: it is not only intimate, a result of his heritage, but also objective, allowing him to fuse art with his photographic reporting. His personality and identity is present in every click of the shutter.
Matlabi’s exhibit is a portrayal of Iran during the Green Revolution, but more importantly, it is a showcase of the identity of the often-overlooked human side to conflict. Through striking portraits, Matlabi reveals the unbridled emotions of the Iranian people. He shows that even under the cumbersome veil of religious authoritarianism, Iran’s citizens can still find ways to display individuality.
“You always find a loophole, you always find a way to stand out,” Matlabi says about personal expression.
The exhibit’s most staggering room, one that sits tucked away from the main space, impeccably demonstrates this buoyant Iranian identity. On one wall, scenes of darkened faces and suppressed landscapes flood one’s field of view. In contrast, with a slight turn of the head, bright resilient faces, looking back with an unmatched self-assurance, meet one’s gaze with a type of stare unlikely to emerge from the restrained atmosphere of the opposite wall.
This distillation of Iranian identity is achieved, in part, through Matlabi’s particular methodology. By developing a personal tie with his subjects, he magnifies the true personality and exuberance of the conflict-ridden Iranian people. Matlabi takes time with his photos, talking with his subject, and creating an experience that he then translates into one photo.
“You play this almost theatrical role with [your subject] and at the end you get this visual image that almost gives you the same narrative you had with them,” he explains.
There is also an extremely strong and pervasive emotional background to Matlabi’s photos, especially with respect to his portraits. This sentimentality derives from his emotional investment to the people of Iran.
“Their faces show the pain [from conflict], but also hope,” Matlabi says. “Maybe I’m being very emotional about [the people of Iran]… but that’s what I felt attached to, and I kept going back because [of] those faces: this is my heritage.”
His emphatic, impassioned pieces demonstrate not only the resiliency of Iran, but Matlabi’s own sense of identity, expressing how much the nation means to him.
Landscape, Revolution, People is showing at the MMFA Graphic Art Centre until March 17. Free admission.
