Alfred Seiland. IRAN

Alfred Seiland’s new study Between the Times shows Iran as an historically important cultural landscape on the edge of transformation into modern times. The country once known as Persia continues to be one of the most mysterious countries on Earth, this territory of enchantment and glamorous myths has constantly been the habitat of ancient civilizations. The origin of this most recent body of work is based on the work of his project Imperium Romanum (2013), where he documented ancient sites of the Roman Empire in their present situation. Seiland’s Iran photographs also present compositions showing landscapes, architecture, and people as they present themselves today and render the juxtaposition of historical remains and the present without embellishment. In a time when Europe seems to be in doubt about its most recent unification processes and is also challenged by a stream of migrants from the Middle East, Seiland’s work reminds us that some of our most evident and current political, cultural, and religious problems with that region have not been solved. This series documents the extent to which the reminiscence of historical civilizations is reflected in today’s world and shows the viewer the great political, cultural, and religious civilizations in the Middle East with impressive images.

ALFRED SEILAND (*1952) started his career as a photographic autodidact. He held a professorship for photography at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, until 2019. Excerpts from his important study Imperium Romanum were published by Hatje Cantz in 2013.