Sirous Partovi
Sirous Partovi
I n t i m a t e L a n d s c a p e
My Personal and Photographic Journey
The photographs featured in this exhibition include works from my most recent series, Intimate Landscape which has been a vehicle for me to explore and ultimately depict emotions surrounding isolation, intrigue and intimacy.
This series is influenced by my 29-year relationship with my wife, also a physician, who sustained the impact of a needle which rendered her HIV-Positive during our first year of marriage. The resulting issues surrounding her unknown longevity, intimacy and love at times led me to isolation and depression.
In this gallery you will see a selection of photographs produced between 2011 and 2017. During this period of creative experimentation I used metaphor to help me articulate a narrative. Images were produced at a range of places including snow fields in Fjallabak Iceland and dunes of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. It depicts a period of my life full of emotional volatility, isolation and depression. I felt like I was losing Patti.
My work has evolved naturally into a new project entitled “Bodyscapes” that is showcased on the long wall in this gallery. By strategically combining multiple photographs to create one complete image, each work functions as a departure from the loneliness and uncertainty that was engulfing me. Through combining the stark and often private experience of remote landscapes with images of the human body I have forged a path to bring Patti back into the narrative of my photography, giving her permanence in my life as well as my artistic practice.
Eric Erickson (1902 – 1994), a noted twentieth century psychologist postulated that
.….in the first stage of adult development we begin to share ourselves more intimately with others. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of love.
Bodyscapes has become my conduit to growth; my creative muse. I am happy to share with you seven of my early works in this new on-going series of photographs.
Sirous Partovi
September 2017