In August 2023, Sarai gallery hosted my latest solo exhibition, Somewhere Around Here, a series of plein-air paintings and drawings made in Tehran. Typically, studies like these serve as the foundation for larger works in my studio. But in this case, they became the entire project. It began a year before I left Iran. In this project, I stood face-to-face with the city to study the light, shadows, and geometric shapes of its buildings. But these paintings are more than just studies; they were a way to hold onto the place I lived, an attempt not to forget.

Somewhere Around Here was shown in a solo exhibition two days after my departure.