Cheshmee (2023)

‘Cheshmee’ is a video installation offering a singular, intimate encounter with Iran, granting viewers a unique perspective through a solitary peephole experience.

Drawing from a mosaic of archival footage spanning the era prior to and following the 1979 revolution, this installation delves into Iran's collective memory, portraying its evolution over the past four decades. The installation seeks to encapsulate the dichotomy between the internal and external perceptions of Iran. Internally, it portrays the intricate interplay of one of humanity's oldest cultures entwined with the harsh realities of extreme religious governance. Externally, it evokes a sense of elusive perplexity, mirroring the struggle to comprehend a reality often obscured and enigmatic. Cheshmee explores the notion of invisibility of through censorship of Iranian people. A looping video only visible through a peephole, this piece invites the viewer into what Iran was like prior to 1979. Draped with black fabric, Cheshmee aims to bring to light the hidden nature of censorship as it pertains to the lives of those living on the inside, and how difficult it may be for those standing on the outside to truly know the challenges, because rarely anything that is shared is true, in its entirety and easily accessible.

‘Cheshmee’ serves as a commentary on the restrictions barring international news organizations from Iran since 2008. These constraints not only shroud Iran’s rich cultural tapestry from the world but also shield the regime's daily atrocities and brutalities from global scrutiny.