Mind-whirling images from the land of Omar Khayyam
Abbas, who has written various books, is born in Iran and works from Paris. Abbas is in self-exile since 1979, and has published world magazines. These include revolutions in the Biafra, Bangladesh, Ulster, Vietnam, the Middle East, Chile, Cuba and South Africa. He has also published several books based on his photos. At present he is working on the Clash of Religions, defined as culture rather than ideologies, replacing political beliefs in the struggles of the near future. He is a member of Magnum Photos since 1981.
In his talk, Abbas said, "My work in Iran, begun in 1971, is an ongoing project. This is my Iran, 'Ispahan is half the world', as the saying goes. The sequencing in editing is in three parts." At first, in the slide show, one saw women clad in black with children at a tomb; the Shah with his court, in full regalia, was replaced by the burning image of his effigy. Next one saw Khomeini's poster in a mammoth meeting at a university. A woman being trained in shooting replaced the image. The notion of avenging the martyrs' blood was then seen in the picture of a section of demonstrators beating shoes and crying, "Why did you kill your own brother?" (This was in rhyme). This was followed by the image of burning of a sex-worker's corpse in a red light area. Then came the image of a pro-Shah woman being lynched.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. At this juncture, Abbas said, "My duty as a photo-journalist has to be seen as someone concerned about what he saw in front of him and one who tried to remedy the situation in every possible and probable manner." In one of the slides, a woman who had fainted on the streets was seen being surrounded by photographers. Khomeini's arrival in France by a helicopter was then projected. This was accompanied by a scene of a large group of women welcoming Khomeini in a school, where he was later residing.
What one saw next was the US Embassy where diplomats were kept hostage after 1979. Corpses of the Shah and his courtiers were seen in the storage and the photo was taken three days after the revolution. Abbas commented here, "Every Iranian fled the SAVAK and the Shah regime. From being involved I became concerned, again." The photograph that followed was of an area that later became an ugly war ground. There was then the meeting of the Mujahedeen during Friday prayers in the streets of Iran. Images of Ashura and a funeral with wailing women were also focused on.
The slide show was indeed a powerful one.