X / Written In White / 2020-2022

A rugged desert mountain with sparse vegetation in the foreground and a clear blue sky.
A hillside with white letters spelling a message in Persian, with a road and cars in the foreground.
Arabic script in white on brown hillside under clear blue sky.
Remote desert landscape with mountains in the background and a large white geometric symbol or pattern on the ground in the foreground.
Desert landscape with a rocky hill that has the word 'LOVE' painted in white on it. Dry bushes and a road are in the foreground.
Desert hill with white Arabic writing on it under a clear blue sky.
A winding mountain road with red and white directional signs on the side, passing through a barren, rocky landscape with mountains and an overcast sky in the background.
Desert landscape with rugged mountains and a clear blue sky.
A landscape with a row of green trees in the foreground, a dry, rocky mountain in the background with white board painted lettering, and a clear blue sky.
A desert landscape with a large white Arabic inscription on the hillside that says 'Allahu Akbar'.
A desert landscape with a hill displaying the word 'LOVE' spelled out in white rocks.
Desert landscape with mountains in the background, a winding road, and rock-formed hills. There is Arabic writing on one of the hills and utility poles along the road.
A barren, rocky hillside with a dirt path winding up to a small cross at the top, and the word 'LIES' written on the hill.
A barren mountain landscape with dark, rugged terrain and a fence running across the middle of the image, under an overcast sky.
A hillside with Persian writing on it, under a clear blue sky.
Desert hillside with the words 'Sister City' spelled out in rocks on the slope.

This series documents the appropriation of mountainous terrains and hillsides overlooking roadways and cities by official ideology. Etched into the landscape with white cement, these slogans transcend political graffiti; they function as an act to monumentalize propaganda and enforce a standardized narrative by distorting the natural visual field. Here, the ideological word intertwines with the brutal geometry of the mountainside, solidifying a perpetual, undeniable presence on the daily horizon.

↑

A person is seen cleaning a mirror with a white cloth, with a reflection of the person and the cloth visible in the mirror. The floor is tiled with brownish tiles, and a pair of black shoes are on the floor in the bottom right corner.

I wrote the name 'Navid Afkari' on a wall; less than ten hours later, the Tehran municipality sprayed over it.