Look Inside
Which art books, prints and posters are available by and about this artist? Here is a sample of items of interest to a typical collector:
Through her photographs, Hoda Afshar examines the politics of image making. Deeply researched yet emotionally sensitive, her bodies of work are a form of activism as much as an artistic inquiry. Alert to the duplicity of the documentary image, to its imperfect relationship to fact, Afshar signposts this explicitly. Her work forces us to contend with violence and brutality not through blunt imagery but through evocation. She exposes a poetics of empathy and in doing so implicates us all.This book examines the critical urgency and political imperative of Afshar's practice but also considers her subversive use of the photographic medium. It addresses the way Afshar complicates our understanding of the photographic image and amplifies its ethical and emotive impact. Richly illustrated, the book features both photography and film from her bodies of work from 2004 to 2023.
Amassed for the first time, Afshar's works offer a poignant reminder of the power of images and their coercive potential. The book includes writings on the artist by curator and editor Isobel Parker Philip and seven commissioned authors who bring critical insights into Afshar's practice as well as creative and experimental responses to her work.
The book was published in conjunction with a major exhibition on the artist's work at the Art Gallery of NSW, Australia at the end of 2023.
Hoda Afshar (b. 1983, Tehran, Iran) is a prominent contemporary artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Her practice occupies a compelling space between fine art photography, documentary filmmaking, and conceptual art. Through her work, Afshar routinely interrogates the nature of the photographic image, the politics of looking, and the marginalization of displaced or whistleblowing individuals.
Afshar’s work is deeply concerned with how the West views the Middle East and other marginalized communities. Rather than relying on traditional, passive documentary tropes, she frequently uses staged photography, performance, and collaboration with her subjects to subvert familiar media narratives. A recurring theme in her oeuvre is the exploration of forced migration, state control, and the human cost of geopolitical policies.
Her main bodies of work include:
Afshar holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Azad University in Tehran and later completed her PhD in Creative Arts at Curtin University in Australia.
Her work is held in major institutional collections globally and across Australia, including the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2023, A Curve Is a Broken Line, a mid-carreer retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, highlighted her masterful ability to weave political urgency with striking, formal beauty.
