Ali rezaei

Photographer & Visual Researcher

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Women in Public Space, Tehran

Tehran is a city that changes every day, but some streets remain almost the same. This was where I started: for a personal photography project, I began returning to central Tehran to document the presence of women in public space. The project gradually took shape between 2018 and 2023. I chose central Tehran because of the variety of people who pass through and spend time there, allowing the project to move beyond a focus on one particular social group. The photographs were taken without coordinating with the subjects, while keeping the same approach throughout the project. To protect their privacy, their faces have been blurred. My focus was less on buildings and more on people and the details of their appearance. Over time, generational differences and changes in clothing and appearance became increasingly visible, particularly between 2020 and 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic also became visible in these changes, especially through the widespread use of face masks in public spaces. Together, the photographs form, for me, a visual timeline of social and historical change. However, I prefer to leave the interpretation of these images open to each viewer.

Two young women in an alley off Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2018 — from the Women in Public Space project
Two young women in an alley off Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2018 — Women in Public Space, Tehran

Two women walking past University of Tehran, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2018 — from the Women in Public Space project
Two women walking past University of Tehran, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2018 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Middle-aged woman on Keshavarz Boulevard, Tehran, 2018 — from the Women in Public Space project
Middle-aged woman on Keshavarz Boulevard, Tehran, 2018 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Group of young women in front of Film-e Iran photo shop, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2019 — from the Women in Public Space project
Group of young women in front of Film-e Iran photo shop, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2019 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Two young women on Valiasr Street, Tajrish Square, Tehran, 2019— from the Women in Public Space project
Middle-aged Iranian woman and man, Tehran, 2019—Women in Public Space, Tehran
Young woman on Valiasr Street near Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2019 — from the Women in Public Space project
Young woman on Valiasr Street near Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2019 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Two elderly women wearing masks, Tajrish Square, Valiasr Street, Tehran, 2020–2021 — from the Women in Public Space project
Two middle-aged women wearing masks around Tajrish Square., Tehran, 2020–2021 —Women in Public Space, Tehran
Young couple on Enghelab Street near Felestin Street, Tehran, 2020–2021 — from the Women in Public Space project
A young couple on Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2020–2021 — Women in Public Space, Tehran

Young woman wearing a mask at Valiasr–Enghelab intersection, Tehran, 2020–2021 — from the Women in Public Space project
Young woman wearing a mask at Valiasr–Enghelab intersection, Tehran, 2020–2021 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Young woman wearing a mask in front of Cinema Africa, Tehran, 2020–2021 — from the Women in Public Space project
Young woman wearing a mask in front of Cinema Africa, Tehran, 2020–2021 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Young woman shopping from a street vendor in front of Cinema Bahman, Enghelab Square, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2020–2021 — from the Women in Public Space project
Young woman shopping from a street vendor in front of Cinema Bahman, Enghelab Square, Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2020–2021 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
Elderly man beside a young woman at Hafez–Enghelab intersection, Tehran, 2022 — from the Women in Public Space project
Elderly man beside a young woman at Hafez–Enghelab intersection, Tehran, 2022 — Women in Public Space, Tehran
A family alongside young men, Hafez Street near Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2022 — from the Women in Public Space project
A family alongside young men, Hafez Street near Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2022 —Women in Public Space, Tehran

Young veiled woman in an alley off Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2022 — from the Women in Public Space project
Young veiled woman in an alley off Enghelab Street, Tehran, 2022 —Women in Public Space, Tehran
Women on Enghelab Street in Tehran, 2023.
Women on Enghelab Street in Tehran, 2023—Women in Public Space, Tehran
Women on Enghelab Street in Tehran, 2023.
Women on Enghelab Street in Tehran, 2023—Women in Public Space, Tehran

© 2018–2023 Ali Rezaei. All photographs are protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

No part of this project may be reproduced, distributed, published, or used in any form without prior written permission from the photographer.