“Collage Tales” invokes the tradition of story telling by using photographic images to tell stories of past and present. Stepanian has used this method as a means of presenting visual narrative for several years. The Iranian photographer skillfully assembles imagery into a symbolic narrative that has familiar components of Iranian people and the country’s landscape through history.

In this new series, Stepanian incorporates black and white as well as colourful symbols of people, animals and landscapes super-imposed onto a somewhat staged studio setting. Inspired by Modernist painting tradition of the use of “the muse,” Stepanian introduces various male and female sitters to his visual narrative which also incorporates the use of props.

For his solo presentation at Etemad Gallery Dubai, the artist presents eleven large format collage photographs whose subject matter are in his signatory fragmented narrative style.