Kaveh Golestan: Prostitute

The first UK exhibition of the late Iranian documentary photographer’s portraits taken between 1975–77 in the Citadel of Shahr e No (New Town), Tehran’s red light district, a walled ghetto where 1,500 women lived and worked. The Citadel was set on fire a few weeks before the victory of the revolution in 1979 (with an undisclosed number of residents trapped inside) and then demolished shortly after through an official decree. Golestan’s portraits are the last extant photographic record of the residents of the Citadel. Whether ravishing beauties or distressingly abused individuals, Golestan’s Prostitute series constitutes one of the most striking visual studies of femaleness produced in Iran.

Curated by Vali Mahlouji.