For her new book, Tavakolian has trawled through her archives not to pick her best work, but instead to dig up what she refers to as her »eyesore« photos from the early days of her career, when, at the age of sixteen, she had started to work as a photo journalist in Tehran. »From the revisiting of these ›eyesore‹ images, against the backdrop of again terrible events, what emerges is a clear rite of passage from the hope and dreams of youth, towards the disappointment of reality and the conclusion that there is only one real choice in life. To be drawn to darkness, or to choose to fight the darkness and go towards the light.

Iranian photographer and visual artist Newsha Tavakolian (b. 1981) has received numerous awards, such as the Carmignac Photojournalism Award and the Prince Claus Award. Her work has been featured in exhibitions worldwide and is in many international collections.