In its first show devoted to a single artist, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is presenting 50 full-scale images of doors by the Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami (Doors Without Keys, until 27 March). Because of Canadian sanctions on Iranian imports, the pictures had to be printed and mounted on canvas in Toronto.
Curators sel ected the pictures from 200 that Kiarostami, aged 76, has made over the course of 20 years. He found and photographed the doors—all locked—in Iran, France and Italy. They are displayed at the museum in a maze-like configuration. “I wanted to create a neighbourhood that would carry the viewer to a lost period of time,” the artist says.
A former carpenter, Kiarostami took up photography in earnest during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 when money to make films disappeared. “Photography is a one-man show, and I’m more comfortable with it,” he says.
Although recognised in Iran, where he lives, Kiarostami built his reputation on critical esteem abroad—he won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his 1997 film Taste of Cherry. The Toronto exhibition was conceived by its co-curator Peter Scarlet, the former director of the Tribeca and Abu Dhabi Film Festivals.
The Aga Khan Museum was founded in 2014 by members of the Ismaili community led by the Aga Khan, a branch of Shia Islam. It aims “to foster a greater understanding and appreciation” of Muslim civilisations. However, Kiarostami’s elegant photographs make no direct reference to Islamic culture. “We’re trying to show versatility, and this is one good example of it,” says Henry Kim, the museum’s director.