Laleh Sherkat: Photographing Iran, 1984 - 1993 “Date Tress” (1988)

Courtesy of Laleh Sherkat 

These photographs were taken during the final months of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and are part of a broader series of work by Laleh captured during a visit to Khorramshahr, Abadan, and Hoveyzeh. These areas were considered active war zones at the time, and access for women was heavily restricted. Despite these limitations, Laleh documented the traces of war, approaching it from a distinct and deeply personal perspective. Some of the most poignant images Laleh captured are of date trees; struck during the fighting, they fold and collapse like fallen soldiers.

Black and white photo of tall, dry, and bent palm trees in a desert landscape.

Black-and-white portrait photograph of an outdoor scene showing a palm grove in widespread damage amidst sparse, dry vegetation. The numerous palm trees are all stripped of their fronds, leaving uniformly bare, cylindrical trunks. Most of the palms remain upright, while one palm tree is prominently featured in the foreground. Its trunk is broken at mid-height, causing the upper portion to bend sharply downward while still attached.

Desert scene with tall, thin palm trees and fallen tree trunk in the foreground.

A black-and-white landscape photograph of a palm forest left dead by the war in a dry and sparsely vegetated landscape. The image depicts an outdoor scene with multiple palm trees, all of which had their fronds blown off. The trees in the background stand upright, lean or bent from the damage they received. In the foreground, one palm tree lies fully horizontal on the ground, its trunk intact but detached from its base.

A woman in a black headscarf and dress kneels on the ground with her head bowed, in a desolate landscape with burnt, broken palm trees and dry, cracked earth.

Black-and-white landscape photograph of a kneeling woman in a dead palm tree grove on dry, sparsely vegetated land. The woman is dressed entirely in black, kneeling on the ground with her head hanging down into her hands. Far behind her are standing dead palms with their fronds broken off. Closer behind her is another dead palm tree broken midway up the trunk, causing its top half to bend downward. The tree’s bent form mirrors the woman’s posture, creating a visual parallel between natural decay and human emotion.

Black-and-white photograph of tall, weathered, and broken palm tree trunks standing in a field of dry grass, with a clear sky background.

Black-and-white landscape photograph of a devastated palm grove following a battle. The image captures a dry, sparsely vegetated field filled with palm trees stripped of their fronds. Only the bare trunks remain, rising vertically across the frame. Most of the trees stand upright and intact, though visibly damaged. One palm near the center is broken near the top, causing the upper portion of the trunk to droop and bend, contrasting with the vertical lines around it. The uniformity of destruction suggests exposure to a violent force, leaving behind a silent landscape marked by loss and environmental damage.