The exposition Scented Rooms aims to be a form of resistance that finds itself in poetry and politics, poetic imagery, re-thinking censored archives, existential reflections on photography and cinema, and dance.
At the very core of the research is an important historic icon in Iran; The country's oldest theater which was burnt down by extremists during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, closed forever and has decayed over time. The burning of this theater, along with many others, was the starting point for imposing restrictions on art and culture.
The research departs contextually from the efforts of the Islamic government to control civil society. It is a reaction to a history of imposing a specific language discourse and discarding elements that represent a non-religious view, visual changes in the urban space and limiting access to specific types of information that refer to citizens’ collective memory.
Giving agency to this theater, the research aims to revive the collective and public memory of a society, being the voice of those that have been silenced for a long time.
This exposition delves into the realm of sustainable material reuse, re-thinking and recycling material in still photography. The artist explores repurposing techniques through personal experiences, approaching Bokashi, a composting chemical to replenish C-41 development for colour-negative film.
The exposition aims to reflect on alternative practices in photographic chemistry, recycling and repurposing materials. It is a sustainable artistic journey that aims to breathe new life into forgotten objects, expanding the discourse on environmental consciousness.
