Rewriting history: a conversation between Parham Taghioff and Hamidreza Karami

Abstract

ABSTRACT This illustrated conversation between Parham Taghioff and Hamidreza Karami focuses on Taghioff’s profound engagement with history and the philosophy of history within his photographic projects. The dialogue explores how Taghioff’s work reveals the common tendency for individuals to unwittingly cast themselves as characters in the historical drama without a conscious understanding of their roles. Key projects, such as the ‘Hands On/Hands Off’ (2014) and the ‘Asymmetrical Authority’ series (2018), are discussed, emphasising the artist’s reliance on personal historical understanding and historical memory. Taghioff highlights the dynamic nature of historical comprehension, stressing that continual emergence of new facts, documents and narratives prevents a definitive understanding of the past. The conversation also touches on Taghioff’s perspective as a contemporary artist in Iran, highlighting the need to examine history to grasp one’s contemporary position. The conversation concludes with insights into Taghioff’s artistic methodology, involving the analysis and use of archival materials, texts and images to reconstruct and critically examine various historical perspectives.