VISIONARY
POSTER
DESIGN
DIRECTION,
EDITING,
PRODUCTION
This series explores the weight of a hidden devotion that began in Iran and endured in silence for over five years. It serves as a meditation on a deep connection that could only exist within the private sanctuary of my notebooks. For years, those pages acted as my only confidant. They held the words I was unable to speak aloud in a landscape of apprehension and the persistent fear of rejection.
My transition to the Western World has resulted in a profound emotional paradox. While I now inhabit a space of geographical liberation where I can finally exist without external masks, my interior world remains occupied by the residue of that past. I am a man who has found his freedom yet remains a captive to memory. This collection portrays the state of the "free prisoner," where the spirit is technically at liberty but remains bound to the echoes of an old, enduring love.
The collection, titled YOU, manifests through a fusion of manual and digital processes. I utilize screen printing and fish-eye photography to create a sense of distortion and intimacy, projecting typography directly onto my own body. By treating the skin as a canvas for language, I seek to show how the words we carry internally eventually become part of our physical being. In this work, typography is the ultimate tool for navigating the tension between what the world sees and what the heart remembers.
This work examines the architecture of private history and the constraints of temporality. It maps the friction between distinct life stages through a strategic interplay of color and typography.
The red field serves as a visceral archive of a period defined by ontological concealment. During this "blood-soaked" era, the act of writing was a desperate necessity for articulating an internal truth that could not be spoken aloud. In contrast, the monochromatic elements symbolize a transition into a state of numbness. This phase reflects a psyche navigating new complexities while recording fleeting, momentary affects.
Typography serves as the connective tissue between these periods. The linguistic elements bridge a past defined by intense struggle and a present defined by analytical stillness. By layering these temporalities, the work explores the self as a dynamic outcome of memory, history, and the continuous act of writing one’s presence into the world.
This work investigates the liminal space between internal archives and the physical body. It originates from a five-year period of unuttered devotion in my life, where social atmospheres necessitated a profound silence. During this time, writing became the primary repository for a clandestine intimacy. These notebooks functioned as the sole confidants for an affection that could not be vocalized.
The transition to a new geographical context has not erased this history. Instead, these emotions remain a sequestered internal landscape. By projecting these private manuscripts directly onto the skin, the work explores the integration of memory and matter. This act transforms the body into a living document of historical longing.
Through this synthesis of text and form, the piece bridges the gap between the hidden past and the visible present. The body is no longer a neutral vessel; it becomes a site where the weight of an enduring, unspoken connection is finally made manifest through the medium of light and language.
Within the YOU collection, this work integrates Persian calligraphy as a linguistic homecoming. By reclaiming the script of my primary devotions, I maintain emotional fidelity to a history born of a restrictive environment. Presenting the text in its original form ensures the essence of that period remains untranslated. The calligraphy acts as a bridge between meaning and aesthetic form, offering an intricate beauty that both reveals and protects the weight of a long-sequestered connection.
This artwork is also part of the "YOU" collection. In the creation of this work, I employed a fish-eye lens to capture a self-portrait. My rationale for using the fish-eye lens was rooted in my desire to convey a sense of restriction and the oppressive nature of the living conditions I aimed to portray. The various types and words featured in the composition are drawn from writings spanning multiple years. I arranged them in a manner that evokes the sensation of these emotions and thoughts swirling around me within the confines of that oppressive space.
My work utilizes Middle Eastern fabric and text to explore the power of language. I believe words alone can distill complex meanings, and my chosen lexicon is deeply informed by the intricacies of my personal history in Iran.
The palette of red, pink, black, and white serves as a visual bridge between my internal and external worlds. Pink and red represent my interiority, evoking softness and vulnerability. In contrast, white and black act as neutral outer layers that reflect a conventional masculine exterior.
The words in my work often embrace one another to address the experience of living within the margins of a society defined by limitations. While each word may appear simple, collectively they give voice to the inner self of a minority. This psyche is often chaotic and burdened by worry, yet it remains resiliently hopeful. I view these words as vital organs that support one another; just as hope rises to temper anxiety, these elements function in harmony to sustain the spirit against the weight of the outside world.
