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Background information
"The photo volume 'The Eyes of Earth' by Solmaz DARYANI tells a deeply personal story about the environmental disaster at Lake Urmia as seen through the eyes of the self-taught photographer, who grew up on the lake. Her grandfather ran a lakefront hotel in the tourist port of Sharafkhaneh and her uncles were sailors. She spent her childhood summers with her grandparents on the lake and, less than a decade ago, her grandfather hosted dozens of people every day. It was the disappearing lake and faded childhood memories that induce her to take the camera and start documenting what was left of the largest lake in the Middle East and the second largest salt lake on the planet.
Content
The photo volume 'The Eyes of Earth' contains 128 pages, 50 color photograph and 12 images from the Daryani's family archive and is designed by Fernanda FAJARDO and Joao LINNEU.
A personal essay by the photographer and a short text of some of Deghati's memories - written in Farsi, French and English - provide personal narratives that reveal the intimate relationship between this human community and the ecosystem they depended on. The introduction is written by Amir AghaKouchak, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science at the University of California, Urvine.
Additional information
'The Eyes of Earth' is dedicated to Narges Qasempoor, Solmaz' grandmother. An illiterate woman who knew the importance of balance between humans and nature and managed to plant 800 trees during her lifetime. She died from Covid-19 during the process of creating the book. The publication is made possible with the support of the VII Academy, FotoEvidence Foundation and the Grodzins Fund." (© Fotoevidence, 2021)