Threads of Time
Parisa Aminolahi
Nominated by
FOTODOK
More than a decade ago, when I moved to a small city in northern Holland, the unfamiliar culture and solitude led me to see the world differently. I began photographing my surroundings, not to document reality, but to transform it. Migration marked the end of one era of my life and opened my eyes to a profound concept: the end of each moment gives rise to the next, and in that flow, even the smallest, unremarkable fragments of daily life shape our existence. This realization ignited an eagerness in me to capture these fleeting, mundane moments; not because they are extraordinary, but because they form the essence of our lives.
What began as an attempt to navigate my new environment evolved into a surreal, dreamlike series; a reflection of how displacement reshapes perception and how the experience of immigration transforms the way we interpret the world. The ordinary became abstract, and my camera became a tool for understanding this shifting reality. Through this process, I discovered that relocating to a new country doesn’t just change where you live; it profoundly alters how you see. This series took shape in 2012 and continues to evolve.
Analog Photography , 35mm, 120 mm film, 2012-ongoing.
What began as an attempt to navigate my new environment evolved into a surreal, dreamlike series; a reflection of how displacement reshapes perception and how the experience of immigration transforms the way we interpret the world. The ordinary became abstract, and my camera became a tool for understanding this shifting reality. Through this process, I discovered that relocating to a new country doesn’t just change where you live; it profoundly alters how you see. This series took shape in 2012 and continues to evolve.
Analog Photography , 35mm, 120 mm film, 2012-ongoing.
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The Artist
Parisa Aminolahi
Nominated in
2025
By
FOTODOK
Lives and Works in
Amsterdam
Parisa Aminolahi (Tehran, Iran), based in the Netherlands, is a freelance filmmaker and photographer. Her series are mostly long-term projects. And her work explores themes such as displacement, exile, homeland, family, and childhood memories, using old family photographs, self-portraits, and her own family members as subjects. Her mediums include photography, documentary filmmaking, animation, painting, and mixed media.
She studied theatre stage design (BA) and animation (MA) at University of Art in Tehran and documentary filmmaking (MA) at Royal Holloway, University of London.
She is a recipient of The Firecracker Photographic Grant, The Netherlands Film Fund, GUP New Dutch Photography Talent of the Year and One World Media Student Film Bursary. Her dummy book, Tehran Diary, was shortlisted for the MACK First Book Award, BUP Book Award, and PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant. She has held screenings and exhibitions locally and internationally and is represented by Ag Galerie.
She studied theatre stage design (BA) and animation (MA) at University of Art in Tehran and documentary filmmaking (MA) at Royal Holloway, University of London.
She is a recipient of The Firecracker Photographic Grant, The Netherlands Film Fund, GUP New Dutch Photography Talent of the Year and One World Media Student Film Bursary. Her dummy book, Tehran Diary, was shortlisted for the MACK First Book Award, BUP Book Award, and PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant. She has held screenings and exhibitions locally and internationally and is represented by Ag Galerie.
More projects by this artist
2022
Tehran Diary
Tehran Diary is a project on the life of the mother of Parisa Aminolahi in Tehran ánd while visiting her three children living abroad. She belonged to a generation of middle class Iranian parents living alone, often continents apart from their children.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, large groups of Iranians left the country in pursuit of a different life. The self-imposed exile of Iranians created a new pattern for their families. In the absence of comprehensive social security to support the elderly, in a culture where it is common for young adults to remain at home till their late thirties, many parents found the absence of their children difficult to deal with.
It hasn’t been easy for the exiled generation either; not shouldering your filial obligations; instead, living in different time zones, and trying to provide support for the elderly means worrying every day about unforeseen situations.
“In 2012, during one of my regular trips from the Netherlands (where I live) to my homeland, Tehran, Iran, I started taking pictures of my mother’s daily life, and this became our routine; whenever we were together, either in Tehran or elsewhere, visiting my siblings. She became my muse. As if I wanted to capture her for myself, for the time she was not with me, when I was back on my solitude in the Netherlands and she was staying alone in Tehran.
A few years later, after printing the images, I sensed an urge to use black and white paint on each photo. It was as if every image offered the possibility of becoming a living moment capable of becoming a three dimensional setting for the world I was trying to create. Photographing her and spending time on each photo had a therapeutic effect on me. I realised that by going through this process I was eventually spending more time with her.”
The result is a hybrid of photography and painting, giving a surreal sense to the imagery.
“On a winter morning in 2022, I received a phone call from Tehran, informing me that my mother had been in a car accident. I can't recall the moments that followed…but somehow I managed to get on a plane in order to land in Tehran some 10 hours after that phone call. My mother didn’t survive the accident; she passed away a few weeks later, leaving us in an immense agony.”
Analog Photography , 35mm film, black and white acrylic on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Supreme.
This series is being reimagined as a book; How the Nights Can Fly.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, large groups of Iranians left the country in pursuit of a different life. The self-imposed exile of Iranians created a new pattern for their families. In the absence of comprehensive social security to support the elderly, in a culture where it is common for young adults to remain at home till their late thirties, many parents found the absence of their children difficult to deal with.
It hasn’t been easy for the exiled generation either; not shouldering your filial obligations; instead, living in different time zones, and trying to provide support for the elderly means worrying every day about unforeseen situations.
“In 2012, during one of my regular trips from the Netherlands (where I live) to my homeland, Tehran, Iran, I started taking pictures of my mother’s daily life, and this became our routine; whenever we were together, either in Tehran or elsewhere, visiting my siblings. She became my muse. As if I wanted to capture her for myself, for the time she was not with me, when I was back on my solitude in the Netherlands and she was staying alone in Tehran.
A few years later, after printing the images, I sensed an urge to use black and white paint on each photo. It was as if every image offered the possibility of becoming a living moment capable of becoming a three dimensional setting for the world I was trying to create. Photographing her and spending time on each photo had a therapeutic effect on me. I realised that by going through this process I was eventually spending more time with her.”
The result is a hybrid of photography and painting, giving a surreal sense to the imagery.
“On a winter morning in 2022, I received a phone call from Tehran, informing me that my mother had been in a car accident. I can't recall the moments that followed…but somehow I managed to get on a plane in order to land in Tehran some 10 hours after that phone call. My mother didn’t survive the accident; she passed away a few weeks later, leaving us in an immense agony.”
Analog Photography , 35mm film, black and white acrylic on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Supreme.
This series is being reimagined as a book; How the Nights Can Fly.
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