08/01/2024
Born in Tehran in 1969, Peyman Hooshmandzadeh is a renowned Iranian photographer and author. He studied photography at Azad University in Tehran.
Hooshmandzadeh is known for photo series like “Cafe Shuka” and “Teahouse,” capturing the raw beauty of everyday life. He works as a photojournalist for newspapers in Iran and abroad, contributing to Reuters, Panos Picture Agency, and Polfoto Agency.
As a co-founder of 135 PHOTOS Agency in Iran, Hooshmandzadeh has shaped the country’s photography scene. His exhibitions include showcases at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran.
Beyond photography, he’s an accomplished writer with works like ها کردن “Warming One’s Hands” and شاخ “Horn,” the former winning the “Printed Press’s Critics and Writers Award” in 2007. His recent book, لذتی که حرفش بود “The Joy of Which We Talked,” explores photography through autobiographical stories.
Hooshmandzadeh’s career reflects a unique artistic journey, embracing the fluidity between photography and writing. In his own words, he shares, “The notebooks were my diaries, from the time of the (Iran-Iraq) war and my military service, my married life, and my student years in university. When I went back to them after many years and began reading, I decided to tear them apart, to lose them, to forget them. Suddenly keeping a diary didn’t seem an interesting thing to do. I felt as if everyone could suddenly access and read my secrets, so I tore them up. But the notebooks themselves, they seemed beautiful to me and I started to photograph them.”
An award-winning artist, Hooshmandzadeh’s impact on Iranian photography and literature is significant. 📸
source: Poupeh Missaghi - Editor at Asymptote
