The Stillness of Clash was created during my residency at Green Olive Arts in 2025. The work was shaped by a period when I was staying in a remote natural area in Iran, surrounded by quiet mountains and open landscapes, while closely following news of war and explosions not far away from where I was staying. The contrast was stark. The land remained indifferent, still, and continuous, while human conflict unfolded in cycles. This experience raised questions about endurance and the uneven weight of historical events on both land and people.

Sound plays a central narrative role. Music inspired by Keyhan Kalhor represents my homeland, carrying emotional fluctuations that echo resilience, loss, and continuity. In contrast, compositions by Johannes Brahms emerge and recede in volume, at times overwhelming the Iranian sound. This shifting balance reflects historical periods when different forces held agency. Periods when local voices were more present, and when external powers exerted stronger influence.

Visually, the recurring figure of a ballerina, drawn from Western classical tradition, holds and interacts with Iranian motifs of war and peace. These motifs are inspired by the drawings of Muhammad Siyah Qalam, whose works often depict hybrid figures, conflict, and cultural entanglement. The ballerina becomes a symbolic carrier of influence, suggesting how global power structures shape, interrupt, and sometimes choreograph the conditions of conflict and calm.

Through sound, movement, and contrast, The Stillness of Clash reflects on the persistence of land, the fragility of human agency, and the complex interplay between internal experience and external forces.

Photo Credit: Abbas Kiarostami, Ali Shokri