A photo collection ‘Capital’ by young artist Hossein Mousavi-Faraz was recently on display at the Bahar Art Gallery, Iranian Artists’ Forum.
The exhibition looked at the dominance of the color grey in 13 black and white shots, symbolizing Tehranis’ growing indifference towards the outside world, Honaronline reported.
“People are beginning to prefer solitude to companionship,” Mousavi-Faraz said. “Few today like to be in touch with their neighbors. I used a big metropolis like Tehran as an example to portray that the city and its residents have become apathetic.”
The idea to portray his feelings struck him when he was giving a touch up to some photos in a fine art photography workshop. “All I did was use a handmade plastic filter. Blur photography techniques strengthened the grey smudges, which is common feature of the collection.”
“Egocentrism and individualism is a newly emerging social behavior and growing rapidly among Tehranis, although it surfaced much earlier in the international arena,” Mousavi-Faraz said, adding that Tehran is important to him as his hometown and “he is afraid to see the colorful tonality of the urban landscape waning.”
Individualistic
On a photograph that shows him standing in front of Tehran’s famous landmark, the Milad Tower, the artist said: “This is a self-portrait, in which I show myself as a member of the same indifferent society. I have also become individualistic.”
Earlier, introducing the exhibition, the artist said: “Tehran has experienced significant social change since it became the capital 200 years ago. From a traditional society of yesteryears it is increasingly becoming individualistic, leaving people in solitude and apathy largely due to the Internet and virtual world and social media networks. Social relationships are receiving far less attention compared to traditional social life. Consequently, people are less sympathetic towards their human fellow beings.”
The photo collection implied that if the society is defined by solitude, the city loses its identity, leaving behind only a blanket of loneliness.
