Paradise Lost by Georg Gerster is a new book featuring 102 colour photographs of Persia taken by the pioneer of aerial photography. Gerster’s collection captures archaeological sites, ziggurats and ancient citadels, as well as seldom seen images of modern life in Iran, in ski resorts and densely-packed cities, between 1976 and 1978. Paradise Lost by Georg Gerster is available now for £35 / € 49.95, published by Phaidon Press.

Phaidon Press Release

Georg Gerster: Paradise Lost

Persia from Above

Edited by Maryam Sachs
Published by Phaidon Press in November 2008
Price: £35 / € 49.95
www.phaidon.com

Georg Gerster, the pioneer of aerial photography and forefather to such photographers as Bernard Edmaier (Earthsong, Phaidon Press, 2004), always believed Persia was “predestined to be viewed from the air, with its salt deserts, gardens like slices of paradise, and waterless wind-sculpted wastes”. With this in mind Gerster embarked on a project to record the region as never before. In November 2008, Phaidon Press will publish a unique and rarely-seen archive of 102 colour photographs of Persia from above, taken by Gerster during 100 flights and 300 flying hours between 1976 and 1978.

Gerster’s stunning collection of photographs, many of which have not been published before, captures archaeological sites, ziggurats and ancient citadels, as well as seldom seen images of modern life in Iran, in ski resorts and densely-packed cities. The archive he created vividly brings to life a place, time and culture that few people outside the country have been able to witness.

The book includes an introduction by Gerster, together with introductory texts for each chapter by Iranian-born writer, Maryam Sachs. In them she describes nine geographical regions depicted in the book, including the highlands of Azarbayjan and the sand-covered landscape of Sistan. As photographs reveal, this is where the ‘Wind of 120 Days’ blows from the northwest all summer, drowning whole villages in shifting sand, only to liberate them again later. Other photographs show landscapes and monuments since destroyed, such as the ancient citadel at Bam, which was ruined in a devastating earthquake in December 2003.

Sachs has also commented on the influence of Persian language, highlighting words borrowed from Persian by English speakers, including azure, bazaar, magic, tapestry, scarlet, narcissus and paradise. These words offer insight into the country’s landscape, inhabitants and traditions. A selection of Persian poetry describing personal memories and experiences of the country from the eleventh century to the present day is also included.

Georg Gerster (b.1928) took his first aerial photographs in the Sudan in 1963. Since then, he has taken photographs in 111 countries on all continents, covering all types of territory from the Amazon to Antarctica. Gerster sees his work as a philosophical instrument: “distance creates an overview, and an overview creates insight.” Based near Zurich, Switzerland, he has also worked a journalist, contributing to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and National Geographic.

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