A photographer who speaks the language of timelessness and whose art is a separate world beyond the lens. Arash Khaksari was born in Iran into a multicultural backdrop; his artistic journey finds its roots in a creative family where the camera held an integral role. With a passion for photography deeply ingrained, Arash reveals the beauty inherent in his subjects, striving to achieve a minimalist yet refined aesthetic of fashion. His projects are characterized by sobriety and a desire to highlight natural beauty.
hube: You’ve mentioned that the camera has been an integral part of your life since childhood, which is unsurprising given that your mother is an actress and your father is a director. In light of such familial connections to film, how has the art of cinema influenced you?
Arash Khaksari: I grew up on film sets and behind theatre stages in Iran. I was very young. It was not yet an influence for me but was the discovery of another world where everything happened in front of a lens or on a theatre stage.
h: Your visual language is distinct and otherworldly. Often, your works feel out of time and place, the images somehow blurring the boundaries between the real and the imagined. These qualities remind us of Ingmar Bergman’s masterpieces. Does the medium of cinema—or those working within it as directors or actors—inspire your work?
AK: Of course. Cinema has always influenced me and will always influence me. I can watch the same film several times and each time get new inspiration. The aesthetic of Ingmar Bergman’s work touches me enormously and influences my photographic work.
h: The advent of colour in photography, cinema, and television marked the beginning of a new technological era. In your art, you have deliberately moved away from colour, considering it commercial. Can you tell us more about your relationship with colour?
AK: Black and white photos have always had an emotional impact on me. I will probably never know why. I think it’s very personal. I’m not a fan of all-black-and-white photos. Many do not affect me. When I look at the works of Bill Brandt, particularly his nudes on the beach, the street photos of Dave Heath, the portraits of Francesca Woodman, or those by Irving Penn, I can’t imagine them in colour. They are so powerful in black and white. I can’t describe my relationship with colour photos, but I can say that a big part of my inspiration comes from an older generation of photographers, and for the most part, they worked with black and white photography…
h: What are the advantages of black and white photography, and how does a monochromatic approach enrich the stories you are trying to tell?
AK: The advantage of black and white photos is that they remain timeless for the most part. They have a kind of soul and depth that is not easily found in colour images. The black-and-white approach is not necessarily simple when it comes to telling a story. I always try to have one or more images in the stories I try to tell, but it is not always simple.
h: In Woody Allen’s film ‘Midnight in Paris,’ the characters dream of bygone eras, referring to them as “La belle époque,” the most beautiful period. Whether it’s references to the power of light, as in the work of Caravaggio, or framing women with the tenderness of a Pre-Raphaelite painting, your work seems to touch upon the aesthetic trends of bygone eras. Is there a particular period of art that you would like to have experienced firsthand?
AK: I think I would have chosen the beginning of the 20th century, partly because of the surrealist movement. There is a photography book on surrealism that I really like, and I recommend it: Explosante fixe — Photographie et surréalisme.
h: You were born in Iran and moved to Paris in your twenties. What influence has the culture of your home country had on your formation as an artist?
AK: I think that my culture and my experience as an Iranian constantly push me to place women in an important position in society. I do it instinctively because in Iran it is completely the opposite. Women have almost no value for the Iranian regime which does not hesitate to denigrate them, does not respect their rights, it even goes so far as to kill them just because they did not wear their veil correctly. Women in Iran are not allowed to dance, to be beautiful, to dress as they wish, to show their hair, to swim in the sea… Isn’t that crazy? #mahsaamini
Phototgraphy courtesy of ARASH KHAKSARI