by Ali Yazdan
It all starts with The Currents, 2020 was a strange year. Personally, for me, it was a time of uncertainty with the people and things around me. One evening, my cousin and I climbed our rooftop for a chat and watched the sunset over the horizon of buildings as far as the eyes could see. A small photoshoot later, I observed this image and realized what it meant to me, and perhaps others who feel at a loss of some magnitude. The photograph reminds me of the song, with the same name, by a band called Bastille, where Dan, the lead singer sings:
Roll up another cigarette Using the minute that it takes To think about the power of your words We're living in the currents you create We're sinking in the pool of your mistakes. And The Mountains echoed takes me back to a blurry school trip, with people long gone, I captured this moment without even knowing it. Serendipity. And now, I realize it reflects who I was back then. Lost, cold, and still. Matter of fact, that picture captures perfectly who I was back then. Surrounded amongst ancient mountains, searching for meaning. Screaming for answers, but only silence echoed. That version of me, has too, faded away with time.
Words and actions that steer towards mistakes leave you pondering at the space that surrounds you. The currents created by those long gone, like a feather carried by the wind, you are left to live in them. This is what these pictures resonate with me. Ever since then, I've been trying to capture moments that make you feel small in this ever-expanding universe and ponder over what it all means. whether they're sunsets, or playing with a childhood friend like Laila and Tariq from Khaled Hosseini"s A Thousand Splendid Suns, or settling for simplicity. what it all means is what I want you to question yourself.