Newsha Tavakolian

The work of Newsha Tavakolian, born in Tehran in 1981, is virtually unknown to Polish audiences. The Iranian photographer combines war photojournalism with art in her practice. Self-taught, Tavakolian began her professional career at the age of sixteen, working for the Iranian daily Zan. Two years later, she was the youngest photographer to document anti-government protests by the opposition in the Iranian capital following the 1999 presidential election. The following year, in 2000, Tavakolian joined the photographers working for the New York agency Polaris Images. Since 2002, she has photographed not only in Iran but has also spent many months in Iraq: during the Second Gulf War, later during the occupation of Iraq and, most recently, during the Islamic State offensive in the country.