Reviewing Baudrillard's Simulacrum Theory in Azadeh Akhlaghi's Photographs

Problem Definition: Baudrillard's prominent popularity is due to the presence of essential theories such as Simulacrum and Hyperreality. He considers the post-modern world a simulacrum world in which the boundary between reality and representation has disappeared. In matching image and reality, he recounts four stages during which the image goes from the stage of reflecting reality to the stage of concealing reality, then to the stage of concealing the absence of reality. Finally, in the fourth stage, it reaches a stage that has nothing to do with reality and produces Simulacrum. This research explores Baudrillard's philosophy, mentions the four stages of Simulacrum, and reviews it in photography. For this reason, to explain the empirical evidence, Azadeh Akhlaghi's photo series entitled "By an eyewitness" has been chosen to answer the following questions: "What is the function of staged photography? How is Simulacrum depicted in this particular type of photography?"Objective: This research's primary goal is to review Simulacrum in staged photography, specifically in the photo series entitled "By an eyewitness".Research Method: This research is descriptive-analytical, and the data collection method is library-based.Results: This research describes the simulacrum theory and explains its different stages. While introducing staged photography, it concludes that according to the definition of Simulacrum and its function from Baudrillard's point of view, the main focus of the photo series entitled "By an eyewitness", is based on Simulacrum. The photos of this collection, like what Baudrillard mentions in the definition of Simulacrum, are opposed to simulation and have the power to produce reality; thus, they have obviously challenged the reality that happened in the past