MOHAMMAD GHAZALI
Artist's statement
I think ever since we began taking pictures of our memorable moments photography has been with me. And now, whether I have a camera in my hands or I’m just lying about doing absolutely nothing, it occupies my mind.
The uncontrollable side of photography is always a new experience for me and I take great pleasure in that moment when everything freezes and finds the same level of importance in the frame. I sometimes consider all the limitations that photography as a medium has as the strong points in my works.
As in most of my series, the starting point of this one was the preceding series. I guess you could say that 'Where the Heads of the Renowned Rest' can be considered as the final link in the chain of work which I have so far presented. With the first body of work I presented, I was working on my photography assignments by wandering through the city and capturing it frame by frame. Initially and because of my limited knowledge of photography, I just took the pictures and the results were not very pleasing. My hidden presence in the city and my connection to the people could be felt in the works that followed.
Selecting titles for my series and each frame within them began with Summer 2004. These titles became a part of my photography. As an obvious example, in 'Where the Heads of the Renowned Rest' every image has a title which helps in the understanding of each frame and ultimately the series. Aside from the fact that the titles seem sarcastic, some also play the role of a family tree to better introduce the personalities they describe. The main idea behind this series is photographing the city from the point of view of public busts and statues placed decoratively throughout the city. The personalities presented are each testament to the shining eras in which that personality lived. The confrontation viewers experience when looking at the present day city from the point of view of these statues of renowned personalities, places them on two real and surreal sides – a confrontation between the past and present.
These images have certain unique characteristics such as their grainy quality, the apparent movement of the camera at the time the shot was taken and even the unaltered colors in the digital printing process. All these have brought these works closer to an amateur style which has been intentional.
