288 - Aria Shahrokhshahi

Aria Shahrokhshahi (b. 1996) is a British-Iranian multi-disciplinary artist, whose practice has been shaped by a deep fascination with the intricate dynamics of diverse communities and the complexities of the human condition. With a focus on social structures and the human experience, Shahrokhshahi's work serves as a critical exploration of the relationships and power dynamics that inform everyday life.

Aria’s debut photobook, Wet Ground, featuring images from Ukraine shot over a period of several years both before and after the Russian invasion in Feburary 2022, was published in April 2026 by Loose Joints.

He is currently putting the finishing touches to a feature documentary film entitled While We Heal, which also focusses on the war in Ukraine and explores the themes of healing, loss, and resilience.

On episode 288, Aria discusses, among other things:

• Formative experiences (11 different schools!) growing up in Nottingham
• How walking around the city with a camera was the start of his photography journey
• Negative feedback Facebook group / YouTube channel
• Early education at the Photo Parlour lab (later named Sequence) from Dan Wheelan
• Using large format and why the decision to shoot B&W came out of the cost of film
• Falling in love with Ukraine
• It not being enough to just take pictures
• Why ‘Ukraine, I guess?’ was an informal category of picture during editing
• Having nothing to say about war but being interested in what happens around it
• The way in which war rearranges the social hierarchy
• Poem by Charlotte Shevchenko-Knight
• How the title ‘Wet Ground’, and the book itself, came about
• The importance of collaboration
• The feature length doc he is making in Ukraine
• The importance of having a commercial practice

Referenced:

• Lee Friedlander
• Laytoya Ruby Frazer
• Don McCullin
• Tim Hetherington (Which Way Is The Front Line From Here)
• Shelby Lee Adams
• Minor White
• Alec Soth
• Gregory Halpern
• Nigel Shafran
• Alessandra Sanguinetti
• Myriam Boulos
• Sohrab Hura
• Lightwork

Website | Instagram

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