Tehran is one of the largest and most populated cities in the world. About fourteen-million people live here. Some are native to the city but most have come to this city to escape the unemployment, lack of resources and opportunities in their own. The city has grown faster than it can be maintained. We raised it that way. And it has become impossible to fix. It has no manners and it isn’t ashamed to show it.
Driving in Tehran will imprison you for hours. Walking is worse, for to walk in Tehran is to evade and avoid its many dangers. Tehran is angry and it wants revenge for having been mistreated for so long and so poorly. ts citizens are confronted daily by its attacks, be they visual, mental or physical. Threatening larger-than-life figures, an ever-changing maze and treacherous, life-threatening paths. Not to mention the debilitating pollution.
Tehran is the chosen environment of its citizens and it has become their prison. People come to Tehran to live but never leave. Tehran is an invalid. And it is rude to stare at invalids. so I take these pictures for everyone to see and to try to understand why the city is the way it is.
Mohsen Yazdipour (b.1980, Tehran) is a contemporary visual artist who uses elements of photography to create thought-provoking, sequential photo-artworks. Yazdipour’s unique perspective is honed through a combination of cultural influences, personal experiences, and education. His disciplined approach to the artistic process combines observation, collection and elimination. A method through which he explores the self and its connection to the environment, using a variety of techniques to convey his concepts and messages. Yazdipour graduated with an MA in Photography from the University of Tehran (2006) and a BA in Photography from the Islamic Azad University of Art & Architecture in Tehran (2003). He also participated in courses at the Media Arts Academy (1996-2000), which is an affiliate of the National Iranian Broadcasting Agency (NIBA).
Yazdipour’s works have been showcased in national and international Biennales and Festivals, such as the 9th Tehran Photo Biennial at the Saba Cultural Center in Tehran in 2004, and the exhibition titled “IRAN: 38 Years, Sixty-Six Iranian Photographers” at Les Rencontres d’Arles in France in 2017. In the same year, he was honored with the DAAD Award by The German Academic Exchange Service in Berlin. Furthermore, in 2004 he secured First Prize at the Negah Photography Competition and was selected as the 2nd Photographer of the Year at the Iranian Artists’ Forum, both in Tehran, Iran. Yazdipour’s photography has garnered significant recognition, and has been featured in numerous publications. Furthermore, he has achieved the distinction of publishing two monographs. Notably, his artistic contributions have been included in several collections, including the permanent collection of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Dr. Abbas Daneshvari Private Collection.