The year is 1975, and the place is the Iranian capital Tehran. Within the walls of the Shahr-e No citadel was a place only women lived, and where only men were allowed to visit – the city’s red light district. Our tour guide is Irani documentary photographer Kaveh Golestan who spent two years in the area compiling his series, Prostitute, which is being exhibited for the first time in this complete set since 1978 in Kaveh Golestan — The Citadel. The series remains an important record of the Shahr-e No, or New City, as it was eradicated by the Ayatollah following the revolution in 1979, falling foul of the new regime’s strict Islamic rule.
Golestan is considered an important figure in photography if somewhat overlooked in Western circles; in particular his work covering the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s was judged particularly noteworthy. The Prostitute photographs appeared in an Iranian national newspaper of the day along with three essays, highlighting the poor working conditions of the women, but the story did not have a happy ending for either the artist or the women he photographed. The area was set on fire before it was demolished, and some of those who survived the blaze were rounded up and shot in the summer of 1980. Golestan himself was killed by a landmine while working for the BBC in Iraq in 2003, aged 52. Kaveh Golestan — The Citadel is being exhibited at Foam in Amsterdam from 21 March to 4 May.
Untitled (Prostitute Series, 1975-1977)
© Kaveh Golestan,
courtesy Kaveh Golestan Estate
Untitled (Prostitute Series, 1975-1977)
© Kaveh Golestan,
courtesy Kaveh Golestan Estate
Untitled (Prostitute Series, 1975-1977)
© Kaveh Golestan,
courtesy Kaveh Golestan Estate
Untitled (Prostitute Series, 1975-1977)
© Kaveh Golestan,
courtesy Kaveh Golestan Estate
