During his stay at the Harchee Residency, Mirparsa embarked on an exploration of Tehran, seeking a new experience of the city. While his previous practice focused on abstracting landscapes, often presented in photobook form, he noted at the outset that his greatest challenge was to photograph a city he had frequently visited for work and friends, but had never intended to document.
Setting aside preconceptions, he began his work from the residency itself, starting with the urban vistas from the terrace. In this series, scenes were captured such that their original subjects became obscured, resulting in images that resembled painterly compositions. This approach continued his earlier engagement with urban landscapes, but within a new framework.
As his work progressed, two new directions emerged: first, a series of portraits of friends and acquaintances made during the residency. Portrait photography was a new venture for him, and he used the opportunity to experiment with various approaches to the genre. Second, he documented a series of objects which, through a formalist aesthetic, created a dialogue with his other works, collectively forming a composite portrait of his lived experience in Tehran.
Mirparsa navigated this process with sensitivity and precision, aiming to present a coherent narrative of his artistic journey. In the final days, he focused on drawing connections between the images sometimes weaving a subtle narrative, other times revealing a wry humor. For the final open studio, he displayed even his discarded prints on the work table, allowing the audience to trace the evolution of his perspective.
Kiana Khazchin (Founder of Harchee Projects)