Iran, Untitled 2014

This untitled image was made by Gohar Dashti. I love the way the light just bleeds into everything, washing out the colors into a soft, dusty palette. It's like the whole image is breathing, expanding from that little huddle of people in the center. They're all squished together, a riot of patterns and textures against the pale, empty landscape. You can almost feel the heat radiating off the ground, the dry air prickling your skin. It's like a mirage, or a memory struggling to surface. The horizon line is so subtle, the sky just melts into the earth, making it hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. It reminds me a bit of those old black and white photos by Bernd and Hilla Becher, but with a warmth and intimacy all of it's own. Ultimately, it's that ambiguity that makes this image so compelling; it leaves you with more questions than answers, which is exactly what art should do, right?