Near and Far, 2020–

Near and Far (2020–) is a series of photo collages by artists Gohar Dashti and Hamed Noori. Using geometric patterns common in Islamic art and architecture as inspiration, Dashti and Noori create collaged images from original photographs of both Iranian and North American landscapes. 

Western art has traditionally depicted nature as a landscape, wherein the horizon line is critical. With the advent of photography, time also became a critical element, allowing for the capture of a place at a single moment from a single human perspective. The traditions of the Persian miniature, in contrast, use a flattened perspective devoid of shadows or horizon lines, instead allowing audiences to access all angles, places, and time in a single viewpoint. This tradition is less about describing an individual’s momentary perspective on their environment than it is about expressing eternity. 

The series Near and Far adapts Western traditions of nature photography and applies a Persian approach to perspective and geometry. The resulting intricate artworks combine the two philosophies to create a visual, cross-cultural dialogue. Near and Far offers fantastical and poetic interpretations of what a landscape can be. 

The artists have reconfigured one work from this series specifically for Evergreen Cultural Centre’s architecture. The expansive twelve-point star depicts the sky from different sides of the world while echoing the surrounding sky and water of Town Centre Park. Spanning the façade of the Centre’s lake-facing lobby, this impressive installation blurs the divide between inside and outside spaces, enveloping viewers in the magic and mystery of the sky above.