TITLE: FOUND

Unveiling Unexpected Connections:
Trees, the Human Nervous System, and Persian Rug Design.
This series was made during my injuries in June 2022 until after my back surgery in March 2023.
At first glance, trees, the human nervous system, and Persian rug design appear to be entirely distinct entities. However, a deeper exploration reveals intriguing intersections, particularly in the context of human well-being and our relationship with the environment.
Both trees and intricate designs like Persian rugs can be employed as tools for cultivating mindfulness. Individuals can cultivate present-moment awareness and reduce stress through distraction and refocusing by focusing on the intricate details of a tree’s bark or the
patterns within a rug. This practice allows the mind to temporarily detach from worries, fostering a sense of calm and peace.
These forms, suggestive of a four-dimensional space, invite the viewers to engage in a more profound and nuanced perception of their surroundings.

AUTHOR: Tirdad Aghakhani (United States)

Tirdad Aghakhani is a photographer and visual artist based in California. His love for human beings is exhibited through his work, largely collections of ordinary people, artists, and fashion photography. His artistic and poetic vision behind the camera has shaped his unique style of photography.

Growing up in a middle-class family, it was his mother who fostered his innate passion for art. Tirdad graduated with a degree in graphic design and simultaneously discovered his love of photography. In 2006, he was hired as the director of one of the largest photography studios in Iran until fleeing to Turkey in 2012 as a gay refugee. In Turkey he was hired as a post-production manager for a professional commercial photography studio and worked as a photographer and graphic designer for multiple European companies through 2015.

He continued to photograph portraits of refugees as an ongoing project, which resulted in a series named Torang (Pheasant), which deals with the life of an Iranian refugee female dancer and was later featured as part of a 2017 exhibition in Los Angeles. He pursued a Master of Arts in Photography from Academy of Art University and graduated in 2020.

His photographs have won multiple awards and been published in various magazines, including Vogue Italia. His quest for new experiences has made him an artist with a wide range of skills and unique works.