Born in Iran in 1978, Mehrdad Naraghi is a graduate of metallurgy engineering from Sharif University of Technology. His enthusiasm for photography motivated him to apply and complete courses in the subject and shift his focus from engineering. As a fine art photographer, his main concern is to manipulate and alter reality in his own aesthetic style of an imaginary realm from a story or poem.
He exhibits regularly in Tehran and has taken part in many group exhibitions internationally, including Unseen Photo Fair 2015 (presented by Ag Galerie, Amsterdam), Crisis of History #3 (Framer Framed, Amsterdam), Grand Prix de la Decouverte 2013 (Le Salon de la Photo, Paris), 165 Years of Iranian Photography 2009 (Musée du Quai Branly, Paris) and That Shimmering Beast (The Empty Quarter Gallery, Dubai, UAE).
His project, “Japanese Gardens”, was the recipient of 2014 PHOTOQUAI Residencies Award supported by Musée du Quai Branly in Paris and he gained invaluable experience photographing the series for a period of four months in Japan.
His works have been published in several magazines and books, including Different Sames: New Perspectives in Iranian Contemporary Art, Connaissance des Arts (No 21) and La photographie iranienne, (Un regard sur la creation contemporaine en Iran).
His works are part of major collections such as Musée du Quai Branly and Bibliotheque National de France.