Aural Topography (Walking the Longest Street of Middle East)

Walk, Sound, Photography, 2015-2018

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Valiasr Street is the longest street located in the Middle East and it is located in the heart of Tehran. The length of the street is 20 kilometers. It is the primary axis that joins the cool mountain districts above the city with the hot, southern reaches out on the plain.  It is the confluence of people and the sound of their incessant activities on a daily basis.  In 2015 I walked this street from one end to the other recording these sounds, in order to capture the complexities and contradictions of the many things that go on in the city.   Old and new come together in ways that are repetitive and yet new each day.  It is that fabric of sound that clothes the spirit of the city, and I attempt to explore each thread and the weave that binds them at the same time. The walk itself was also the symbol of remembrance and stability. A symbolic gesture and performative act with an aesthetic creativity, which spontaneously and legally celebrates the appropriation of public space to make a great statement on peace and stability, which we strive in the Middle East. The street becomes a symbol and the walk is the medium.

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