From the East is a long-term project based in Tehran that revisits the city’s memories. It does not take a historical perspective on events but treats them as archival material. On the one hand, it is connected to collective memory, and on the other hand, it is tied to the present. It is concerned with the image and does not let it go.
explores memory through a sense of loss. This loss represents something that is no longer available, absent, or distorted, which drives us to remember. But how can we revisit a memory in which we had no role, or that we have forgotten in the present? In such cases, collective memory steps out of the realm of history while using the same material to recall it. Memory, however, is more flexible than to be simply re-read with such tools: should we explore its spatial context or examine it in detail? This is the first part of the “From the East” project.
Episode 1: 1979 – 2018 seeks to explore a connection in this city through two specific years: memories that are sometimes personal and sometimes have a social aspect.
