Born in Khash, Abbas documented the Iranian Revolution during the 1970s, bearing witness to the tumultuous events, which inspired the photographer’s subsequent life’s work. He left the country in 1980 and did not return for 17 years.

Describing himself as a “historian of the present”, Abbas dedicated himself to documenting the political and social life of societies in conflict. In a career that spanned six decades, he covered wars and revolutions in Biafra, Bangladesh, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, the Middle East, Chile, Cuba, and South Africa during apartheid. The result of a process described by Abbas as “writing with light”, his images occupy a niche that spans both photojournalism and art.