Born in 1374, Tehran, Iran

Biography

Mahdiyeh Afshar Bakeshloo, born in 1995 in Tehran, began her professional photography career with conceptual photography. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and conceptual photography, she started her artistic journey in 2014 and has since developed a distinct and personal visual language that centers on expressing complex human emotions such as sorrow, solitude, and confusion. Her black-and-white, single-frame images often feature minimalist compositions and the contrast between the human body and everyday inanimate objects. These photographs capture both emotional clarity and poetic ambiguity. Her works resemble visual poems carefully arranged and controlled compositions that use symbolic elements like apples, fabric, thread, or simple objects as personal metaphors for lived experience and inner perception. Afshar Bakeshloo approaches photography not as a tool for documentation, but as a medium for translating private emotions into visual form. Her photographs typically exclude facial features and are set in abstract spaces, allowing viewers to connect with the work on a broader, more emotional level. While inspired by surrealism and emotional minimalism, her creations are deeply rooted in her lived experiences and personal cultural context. Mahdiyeh Afshar Bakeshloo has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions across Iran, the UK, Germany, the United States, Greece, Italy, and Romania. Her images have been featured in prominent publications such as F-Stop Magazine, Suboart Magazine, The Eye of Photography, Fraction Magazine, and Portrait of Humanity. In 2023, one of her photographs was shortlisted for Portrait of Humanity Vol. 5 and featured in The Times of the UK.

Group Exhibitions

2025 -Group Photography Exhibition "This is me” at Sheydaei Art Gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2024 -Group Photography Exhibition "My share” at Hafta collection at Milad Tower (Tehran_ Iran)
2023 (3 Aug)_ Portrait of Humanity Exhibition at Belfast Exposed (United Kingdom)
2022-"Virtual Art Exhibition "at at Digital Chroma agency (Berlin _ Germany)
2022-"Photo, But Not Photo " group exhibition at Float Photo Magazine
2021-"I am , what i see " GROUP EXHIBITION at Doran Moaser Art Gallery (Esfahan_ Iran)
2021-"I am , what i see " GROUP EXHIBITION at Mojdeh Art Gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2020-"New Visions" at Artdoc photography magazine
2020-" THE 2020 FAVORITE PHOTO EXHIBITION, PART 11" at lenscratch
2020-Group Photography Exhibition "From Someone Else 2” at aknoon gallery (Esfahan_ Iran)
2020-Group Photography Exhibition "From Someone Else 2” at shamidehart gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2020-Monochromerific black and white exhibition at More Art Please fine art gallery (Romania_Brasov)
2019-Group exhibition” vakavi“at Ehsan art gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2019-ANNUAL PHOTO GROUP EXHIBITION at Mojdeh Art Gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2019-Group exhibition” The last event of 97 “at mojdeh art gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2018-Conceptual Photos Exhibition at Blank wall gallery (Athens - Greece )
2018-Group exhibition” summer Photography sale “at artibition gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2018-Group exhibition” summer Photography sale “at mojdeh art gallery (Tehran_ Iran)
2015-Group exhibition “ide ta era” at Arman college (Tehran_ Iran) in

Other Activities

Course&Workshops:
2023-( september )- "Fine art photography" workshop by Morteza Hassani (Tehran_Iran)
2023-( February 18)- "Fine art photography" workshop by infography (Tehran_Iran)


Interviews:
2024-(August) "A visit to the studio of Mahdiyeh Afshar Bakeshloo, an Iranian fine art photographer" by BE OPEN Art
2020-(November 27)- Online interview "Fine Art photography" by infography (Tehran_Iran)
2020-(April 29)- online interview "Fine art and conceptual photography" by sarv academy (Tehran_Iran)