Tirafkan is an Iranian contemporary artist who divides his time between Toronto and Tehran.
He was born in Iraq in July 3, 1965 to Iranian parents. He fled Iraq with his family when he was six years old, before the Islamic revolution took place. He graduated from the University of Tehran with a degree in Photography in 1989 and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Tirafkan uses his knowledge of culture to explore his Persian identity. His strong attachment to his Persian roots clearly shows in his artwork, which employs different media: photography, video installation, and collage.
Sadegh Tirafkan
Tirafkan’s photographs explore the power, value, and meaning of symbols in both the individual and society in Persian and Western culture. Tirafkan is a persevering artist who navigates through time and culture in search of his place and identity as an Iranian man in the contemporary world.
The medium of photography is his main platform to construct powerful visual plays using a combination of elements that he inspirits with symbolism. The significance of symbolism throughout Tirafkan’s body of work comes from his Persian root in which direct dialogue is rarely used, but frequently replaced by symbolic languages.
Solo Exhibitions
2007 Silk Road Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006 Lee Ka-Sing gallery , Toronto, Canada
2006 Aspace Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2006 Massoud Nader Gallery, New York, U.S.A
2005 Esace photography contreype, Bruxelles, Belgium
2005 VU Photography Centre Quebec, Canada
2005 Assar Art gallery , Tehran , Iran
2004 Lehmann museun Gallery, New York, U.S.A
2003 Gallery VU, Paris, France
2002 Nader Gallery, New York, U.S.A
2002 Parkerson Gallery, Houston, U.S.A
2001 seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2000 seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1997 seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
1995 seyhoun Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Selected Group Photo Exhibitions
2006 Total Arts gallery, Dubai, U.A.E
2006 Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Australia
2006 Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii
2005 Art after Revolution , San Sebastian , Spain
2005 Arco Art fair Madrid, Spain
2004 LEE Ka-sing gallery , Toronto, Canada
2004 Musulmanes, Musulmans in Caire, Tehran , Istanbul, Paris and Dakar, La Villette Museum, Paris, France
2004 The Fifth International Month of Photography in Moscow, Russia
2003 Paris Photo Art Fair, VU Gallery, Paris,France
2003 Group show, Unique(s), VU Gallery, Paris, France
2003 Group show , Arta Gallery, The Distillery , Toronto
2003 Art Brussels 21st contemporary art, VU Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2002 Paris Photo Art Fair, VU Gallery, France
2002 ‘Memoires de Pierres’ use municipal des Beaux-Arts de Frejus, France
2002 20 years photography in Iran, 40 Iranian photographers, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
