World Bank exhibition of works by Iranian photographer, Roshanak Bahramlou
Opening: November 14, 2007 5:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Exhibition: from November 14, 2007 through January 11, 2008.
Location: Preston Lounge, World Bank Main Complex, 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433

"Through her lens she gives us her powerful, yet poetic reading of courageous and admirable people". It is with those words that the Vice Presidency of the World Bank introduced the work of Iranian photographer, Roshanak Bahramlou.

Roshanak Bahramlou captures in many instances the emblematic images of private and public moments of a population in historic transition through a glimpse of its less privileged members: women and children. Through her lens she gives us her powerful, yet poetic reading of courageous and admirable people. After spending an entire year in Afghanistan working as a photographer and a humanitarian with the NGO Aina, she presents an original and intimist view of the lives of women in Afghanistan. Her photographic exhibition "Intimités Afghanes" is organized by the World Bank Vice Presidency and its Art Program Service, in Washington D.C. for the first time in the US.

Intimités Afghanes is part of the World Bank Art Program’s In the Eyes of a Woman exhibition series, which features photographs of women and children by 10 women photographers, selected from artists who lived, worked, or were born in one of the World Bank’s client countries, and whose work reflect the Art Program’s goal of giving a face to the Bank’s work in development. The worldwide selection process was very competitive and rigorous.

Artist's statement

In 2003, during a one year mission in Afghanistan for NGO Aina which supports Afghans journalists, I started documenting the private and daily life of women, in a country where they had gone through social annihilation.

As an Iranian born photographer, sharing the same language and culture with the Afghans made it easier for me to become more intimate with women than any other foreigner. All the women in Intimité Afghanes either had lived through or were born during the Taliban’s theocratic rule, with no rights for education, health or work.

When producing my feature, I was inspired by traditional techniques used by local photographers to incorporate color into black and white film, the only film available in Afghanistan.

After the fall of the Taliban, I could see the little freedom and hope coming back to their lives just as vivid drops of color in a black and white destiny.

About Roshanak Bahramlou

Roshanak Bahramlou, painter and photographer, left her native Iran for studying fine arts in Paris. Quickly she was struck by the passion of painting and especially photography. Mentored many years by Reza, international photojournalist for National Geographic, Roshanak began her career as a professional photographer by focusing on women issues and is the author of Femmes dans la cité (Immigrant Women in the Paris Suburbs), Azerbaïdjan, portrait d'une transition (Azerbaidjan, portrait of a transition) (by UNICEF) and Intimités Afghanes (by UNESCO). She covered various countries such as Egypt, Cuba, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Iran and her work has been published in Marie Claire, Elle, Paris-Match, and other publications.

Since 2001, after the fall of the Taliban, she had been a regular collaborator of NGO Aina, founded by photojournalist Reza, in Afghanistan. In 2003, Roshanak spent an entire year in Kabul as the Art director of the children magazine Parvaz. In this period she worked on the Intimités Afghanes project, originally depicting Afghan women in their daily life.

Images and text courtesy of The World Bank, The International Museum of Women (IMOW) and Webistan.

ROSHANAK BAHRAMLOU

1972
Born in Tehran, Iran

1987-1992
Painting Studies with Aydin aghdashlou in Tehran and Ayoub Emdadian in Paris

1991
self taught B&W darkroom process

1992-1998
Photography studies with Reza in Paris

1992
first photography book "Femme dans la cité" on immigrant women in Paris Suburbs

1996- 1999
Fine Arts studies, University of Paris

1998
"Portrait of transition" book published by UNICEF

1998- 2000
Archives manager at Webistan photo agency

2002- 2003
Art Director at AINA NGO for Children magazine Parvaz in Afghanistan

2003
"Intimités Afghanes" book published by UNESCO

2003- 2007
Editor and correspondant for Webistan photo agency

2007
"Intimités Afghanes" exhibiton at the World Bank main complex in Washington D.C.

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