First to exhibit photographer outside Europe

Media Statement
For immediate release

28 April 2008

Suite Gallery first to exhibit photographer outside Europe

Suite Gallery is proud to present ‘Frontstage’ by photographer Anoek Steketee, in association with the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

Suite has once again cemented it’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary dealer galleries by being the first to exhibit the photographer’s work outside Europe.

Steketee’s ‘Frontstage’ series shows individuals taking on the main roles in life in Iran. However, in contrast to Western media or Iranian propaganda, ‘Frontstage’ showcases not collective Iranians, but the individual.

Steketee’s work places individuals in front of the spotlight. The Iranian women in her photographs are no longer reduced to supporting cast members, merely a link in a system; they become people of flesh and blood who have different backgrounds and lifestyles. All of them tell a different story about life in Iran. The Islamic Republic and the revolutionary ideology fade into the background, becoming a dimly lit décor.

Steketee uses her camera both as a tool of the imagination and as an instrument to investigate societies and learn about different realities. Her portraits have a beauty all their own, while also painting a picture, with subtle details, of the alienation of individuals in societies filled with contradictions.

Steketee was trained at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and spent a year doing post-graduate master studies at the Academie Sint Joost in Breda. She has previously exhibited work at Noorderlicht in Groningen, in Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Barcelona and in Prague.

ENDS

Opening reception: 5.30 – 7.30pm Thursday 1 May.
Exhibition dates: Friday 2 May – Saturday 25 May

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