TEHRAN – Prolific photojournalist Saeid Sadeqi who is mostly famous for his collections on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war is showcasing his new series featuring current portraits of people he once photographed on the warfronts in an exhibition at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF).

The exhibition entitled “After That Day” has been organized to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the war. 

Speaking about his plan in January to work on this collection, Sadeqi said that the collection would provide an opportunity for visitors to make a comparative study between the lives of the soldiers on the warfronts and their lives as citizens of today.

“This collection can actually open a new window to the post-war era,” noted Sadeqi, who covered 34 major military operations during the war.

He said that each photo of the collection surely tells new stories of the war and added, “These soldiers are not fake heroes for me. They are individuals who each can narrate different stories of the situations they have been through.”

Each photo in this collection shows the subjects posing with their photos Sadeqi took on the warfronts. 

“When I began the project I found out that many of the soldiers in the photos were martyred, and when the families came across their unseen photos they were highly impressed, and I also recorded those moments with my camera,” he said.

Sadeqi plans to publish this collection in book. He has previously published his series in several books, including “Broken Blossoms”, “Mirror of the War”, “Halabja” and “Lovely Defense”.

Sadeqi’s black and white photograph “Conquest of Khorramshahr” that depicts Iranian soldiers celebrating the liberation of Khorramshahr at the Friday Mosque of the city was sold for 750 million rials (about $18,000) at the 10th Tehran Auction in January.

The exhibition, which is currently underway at the Paeiz Gallery of the IAF, will run until October 1.

Photo: Photojournalist Saeid Sadeqi speaks during the opening ceremony of his exhibition “After That Day” at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on September 22, 2019. (Tasnim/Amin Ahui)

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