As part of the diaspora, notions of belonging are shaped by the shifting relationship between homeland and adopted home. Harvest (Tehran Series) is an attempt to reconnect with and reclaim ‘home’ as a relocated artist—a performative exploration of a city that feels at once familiar and estranged, intimate and elusive.
The performative process unfolded over six months of walking through Tehran, the project unfolded across socio-politically and historically significant routes, from affluent districts to neglected neighbourhoods. Through a process of frottage, overlapping patterns of pavements, manhole covers, and urban surfaces from different periods of the city's evolution were transferred onto canvas. By collecting traces of paint, dust, and residue, the works both map the city's physical topography and offer an alternative account of its layered histories. The canvases transform a personal act of navigation into a shared space of encounter.
Each work is titled after the location where the process took place, foregrounding the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical narratives embedded within the site.
The photo documentary of Harvest by Arya Abolhassani