Mehrdad Naraghi (Iran, 1978) studied at the Sharif University of Technology to be an engineer. In 2002 he decided to devote himself to photography and attended several courses in this area. In his work Naraghi focuses on the effect of human presence and activity on places and objects, i.g. abandoned places within an urban environment or Japanese gardens. The work of Naraghi has been included in numerous international group exhibitions, including at Photo Quai (Musée du Quai Branly, Paris), and That Shimmering Beast (The Empty Quarter Gallery). Naraghi’s photographs have also been featured in publications such as in Connaissance des Arts and Different Sames (no. 21): New Perspectives on Iranian Contemporary Art.
The selection of photographs are images of Tehran obscured in an unknown layer from grey to black. Taken from various locations of high elevation in the north of the city, the images capture its polluted air and its suffocating atmosphere. The calculated aesthetics of the series suggests not only a climatic catastrophe but also its effects on the society as a whole. A city at above 1000 meters and of fourteen-million people, Tehran’s air is both thin and thick and it is seen while its city is breathed.
