Hardcover, 24 × 32 cm, 24 pages, English/German
The catalogue First Things First comprises a selection of images from a number of Shirana Shahbazi’s photographic series created over the past ten years. The presentation of some fifty works is not necessarily categorically or linearly organized; rather, it appears completely free of hierarchy, with photographic styles, subjects, and techniques displayed on equal footing. First Things First emphasizes a juxtapositional approach, a dynamic and free arrangement of various subjects and styles: unspectacular landscapes are placed alongside fruit and flower still lifes; seemingly casual urban scenes sit alongside geometric shapes; colored compositions are in contrast to black-and-white images.
In her work, Shahbazi generates a complex interplay between images through her surprising and innovative compositions. The photographic arrangements build unexpected bridges between images and ideas to create both a balance and a tension, and to offer an alternative way of looking at the world around us.
