Bristol Photo Festival: Hashem Shakeri – Staring into the Abyss
Staring Into the Abyss is the debut solo UK exhibition by Hashem Shakeri, an award-winning Iranian artist, photographer and filmmaker, which documents everyday life under the Taliban. Some visitors may find this content distressing.
Shakeri’s images capture an atmosphere of uncertainty and ambiguity as ordinary Afghans deal with numerous restrictions and violence reintroduced after the Taliban’s return to power on 15 August 2021. The Taliban return was widely expected. The pace at which it occurred caught many off guard with the Taliban entering Kabul before U.S. and NATO forces had fully withdrawn. A chaotic evacuation occurred; embassies scrambled to extract their staff while Afghan citizens desperately attempted to gain access to the limited airlifts taking place.
Following these events, Hashem Shakeri travelled to Afghanistan, arriving after the international news media had largely moved on to other stories, and the country’s diplomatic isolation intensified. His images capture daily life as the country readjusts to life under the Taliban. Afghanistan is currently the only nation where secondary and higher education is forbidden to girls and women. The ban affects 1.4 million Afghan girls, according to Unesco.
Shakeri’s images document an end to 20 years of conflict, the return of restrictions and the ongoing threat of violence. His images avoid the monumental, instead focusing on how communities survive in the wake of global history.
About Hashem Shakeri
Hashem Shakeri is an artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Tehran. He creates slow documentary projects that study the aftermath of global histories and ideologies. His work has been published by The Sunday Time, The New York Times, The New Yorker and the British Journal of Photography, amongst others. Shakeri is the recipient of multiple awards including: the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (shortlist, 2020), Reportage Grant from Getty Images (2019), POY World Understanding Award (2017), the Lucas Dolega Award (2016) and the Ian Parry Scholarship (Commended, 2015). His work has been presented in group exhibitions including: Paris Photo (2018) and Recontres de la Photographie Arles (2017). This exhibition will be Hashem Shakeri’s first solo show in the UK. It was co-curated by Julia Carver, Curator of Art at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, and Alejandro Acin of Bristol Photo Festival.
With thanks
This exhibition was generously funded by Arts Council England, and was produced in partnership with Bristol Photo Festival.
Access information
This exhibition is in the exhibition gallery on the upper second floor. There is a wheelchair-accessible lift from the entrance lobby to the ground floor. From the ground floor, there is level access to every floor of the museum via the passenger lift. The exhibition will not feature any audio-visual installations or flashing lights. Please ask the staff on duty if you have any concerns or need support.
