Performance in Public Space, in the dry river bed of Zayandeh Rud, Esfahan, Iran, 2022
Hotter heat waves, higher sea levels, and more severe droughts: this is the pressing reality in the Middle East, where climate change is a particularly pressing issue. By 2030, temperatures in the world's hottest, driest, and most arid region are expected to more than double the global average. Large parts of Iran are also being hit by a severe drought. The river bed of Zayandeh Rud has dried up for several years. Scientists attest that Iran is on the verge of "water bankruptcy". This is how researchers describe the state when a country continuously consumes more water than is available through precipitation or groundwater storage.
This project focuses on the importance of water in life and questions our relationship with it as if there are always enough resources. During this performance, I held water in my hands and walked in the dry riverbed of Zayandeh Rud while trying to keep it longer as it drips between my fingers. I continued the walk until nothing was left and my hands got dry. I chose the word AB because it means water in Farsi and because the first two Latin alphabets symbolize the very first elements of life.
This work is based on our lack of receptors in our skin for wetness. Wetness is a sensation we take for granted, an experience our brain picks up from other cues, such as temperature and touch. I presented this conscious walk in a form of a ritual praising water and appreciation of life that is present on this planet because of water.
Photography: Negar Ebrahimi