Author Description

<p>The catalogue <i>First Things First</i> comprises a selection of images from a number of Shirana Shahbazi's photographic series created over the past ten years. The presentation of some fifty works is not necessarily categorically or linearly organized; rather, it appears completely free of hierarchy, with photographic styles, subjects, and techniques displayed on equal footing. <i>First Things First</i> emphasizes a juxtapositional approach, a dynamic and free arrangement of various subjects and styles: unspectacular landscapes are placed alongside fruit and flower still lifes; seemingly casual urban scenes sit alongside geometric shapes; colored compositions are in contrast to black-and-white images. </p><p>In her work, Shahbazi generates a complex interplay between images through her surprising and innovative compositions. The photographic arrangements build unexpected bridges between images and ideas to create both a balance and a tension, and to offer an alternative way of looking at the world around us.</p><p>This book is published on the occasion of Shirana Shahbazi's exhibition "First Things First," curated by Andreas Fiedler, at KINDL--Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, April 2-August 6, 2017.</p><p><b>Contributors<br></b>Jens Asthoff, Andreas Fiedler</p>