Along the Pines 

Military service for those who spend it in their hometown is more monotonous than it is difficult—a repetitive, unchanging routine that continues one after another. When someone finishes their service, another comes to carry on the same repetition.

During these long days and months, to endure and delay reaching a breaking point, you must shift your focus to the details around you.

The memory and gift of my days in military service was my attention to plants.

Many days, especially during the spring, I would return home with pockets full of various seeds and fruits. It felt like gathering them brightened my spirit, making me feel that my day wasn’t wasted. The pine trees in the military compound, along with the grass growing at their feet, were like silent friends to me. Seeing them lessened the emptiness of my days, and their fresh scent calmed me.

This Zine project is the result of those days.

Arash Bahrami (born 1991, Tehran) draws inspiration from elements of nature to express his deep and sometimes unspoken emotions. In his work, trees, grass, and mountains are intertwined with the inner states that the artist is experiencing; states that are manifested in his forms and brushstrokes.

Arash Bahrami’s hangings, alongside his paintings, are a translation of his artistic vision of the world. By suspending threads and strands from uniquely shaped pieces of wood, he creates hangings that each tell the story of a particular time and feeling.