Behdad Lahooti

Black is the absence of visual perception. It does not reflect, emit, transmit or receive. Black does exist in nature. White is the achromatic perception of maximum brightness and luminosity. White does not exist in nature either. It is perhaps an impossible and wishful undertaking to have the contemporary art of our land judged and/or appreciated outside the preconceived notion and prevalent world public opinions. Does the world really need contrasts to create a distinguishable reality? As a Nation we are neither black nor white. We like to be viewed away from the apriori clichés of right and wrong, and the prefixed notions of good and bad. In other words, we like to be seen as we are, in our diversity and complexity.

Nazila Noebashari

Walter Benjamin once asked if there were still people left who knew how to tell stories? If there is an answer to this question, perhaps it should be sought in Iran: A land where narrative still lives, not as entertainment but as a form of rumination, memory and survival. In Iran, the connection between events is never limited to "coincidence". From the heart of history, every experience becomes meaningful, and from the heart of meaning, a new narrative is born. This is the soft and enduring force that takes Iranian civilization beyond fleeting politics.

Written by Rouzbeh Kardovani