PEY, first step, a Group Exhibition

13 October-14 November 2025

Curator’s Assistant: Zahra Fayazbakhsh 

Artists: AmirBahador Bayat, Amin Shirpour, Saba Niazmand, Narges Pourbadakhshan, Masoumeh Rashvand, Leyla Faghani Delshad, Masoud Zeraatkar

Statement

Undoubtedly with the emergence of photography in the nineteenth century, the way of perceiving architecture and alongside it, the way of writing about architecture entered a new era. Over the past 199 years, this new form of vision has built a bridge of dialogue between photography and architecture.

This closeness perhaps stems from the fact that a building, before coming into being, is first conceived as an image in the architect’s mind. That imagined vision then materializes as a tangible structure in the real world. The architect knows how to breathe life into that ideal image and give it form as a three-dimensional construct; and we, as photographers, have learned how to capture that depth and dimensionality within the confines of a limited, two-dimensional frame.

What we photographers present of architecture is, of course, not entirely what the architect envisioned. Rather, it is a structured interpretation encoded through the visual language of photography of the world before us, inviting the curious viewer to reconsider architecture anew.

About The Curators(s)

Reza Soofi

Born in 1972, Tehran

He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Photography from the University of Tehran. The exhibition “Pei, First Step” was curated by him and presented at Didar Gallery. Prior to this project, he worked professionally for many years in architectural, industrial, and advertising photography, and he has been continuously active in these fields since 2001.

His activities include:

 Teaching Architectural Photography at Tehran College of News, 2014–2018
 Teaching Architectural Photography, Advertising Photography, Lighting Basics, Equipment Studies, and Portrait at the University of Tehran, Faculty of Fine Arts, 2018–present
 Solo exhibition, Iran IPC, 2001
 First Prize, Architectural Photography Competition, Road and Structure International Magazine, 2004
 Jury member, First Student Digital Photography Festival, Shahid Beheshti University, 2006
 Architectural Photography Workshop, Iran Advertising, Architectural And Industrial Photographers Association, 2009
 Architectural Photography Workshop, University of Tehran, 2018
 Lecture: “Challenges of Online Photography Education,” 5th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran – College of Fine Arts, 2021
 Lecture: “The Relationship Between Photography and Architecture,” Iran University of Science and Technology, 2022 Architectural Photography Workshop, Iranian Youth Cinema Society, Bam Branch, 2022
 Scientific Secretary, 7th Annual Photo Exhibition, University of Tehran – College of Fine Arts, 2023
 Lecture: “Architectural Photography and the Tradition of Documentary Practices,” University of Tehran, for Architecture Week, 2023
 Lecture: “Architectural Photography and the Tradition of Documentary Practices,” University of Tehran, for Architecture Week, 202