Past Present

The picture is a vague intertwining of the images of the people from the 1979 revolution with a group of people from the present. It blends the past’s real time with the photograph’s present time. Neither the people from the past nor those of the present can be clearly recognized. Both are shapeless masses, tangled within themselves and with each other. A ghostly shadow of green and red hues swallows these shapeless forms. The white space between the green and red seems to have disappeared, replaced by a warm, dull, and dark gray. All of this makes seeing unclear. Within this floating shapelessness, one might guess something. The people behind the picture—those from the past—seem to be looking at their future, the people ahead of them, that is, the present people. The present people appear to be looking at a vague point or points outside the photo. Perhaps the future of these present people lies beyond the frame. Maybe the position of the photographer or photographers hint at this future time. Whatever it is, I cannot go beyond these maybes and hints. This time, this blur makes finding meaning impossible.

“How we have soaked ourselves in words / From story our story is born...

The past and its future are with you / Both seem one thing, though they appear two” 

Masnavi, Book Three