[with Eda Özbakay]
Saleh Kazemi was born in 1992 in Tehran, where he lived until he was 18, when he moved to Italy to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Documentary photography was his first professional artistic pursuit, but he later decided to step away from it to focus on drawing. His life is constantly on the move, with a sketchbook in his bag where he draws the people, places, and events he observes around him.
You’ve been away from your birthplace for many years. What does Iran mean to you now? Is it a geographical distance or more of a distance in time?
Perhaps more of a distance in time. In reality, my city—Tehran—has changed so much since I moved to Italy, and even though I’ve returned on several occasions over the years, each time I feel further away from the city I left. On the other hand, I also feel the geographical distance: I miss my family, and I regret not being able to experience it as much as I’d like.
Before turning to drawing, you primarily worked with photography. What made you set photography aside? What does the camera fail to see that you’ve been able to capture through drawing in your dialogue with reality?
One of the main reasons for this choice was the search for a more personal and recognizable language. A second reason was the possibility of being independent from technology while creating something original.
Even with photography, I always tried to tell the story of a space and the dialogue between objects and forms, but with drawing, I have much more freedom to choose the elements I want to depict, even if they aren’t physically close. Or I can remove things that don’t interest me! Essentially, to draw a room, I select all the elements that represent it and put them together, so the result isn’t a realistic and faithful snapshot—like in a photo—but allows those who’ve seen the room to recognize it immediately, or conveys its atmosphere to those seeing it for the first time.
Your works are often rich in detail, yet the space within them doesn’t feel cluttered. How do you allow your pieces to breathe?
As I mentioned, by being able to choose the arrangement of elements in space, I often pair more detailed objects with simpler ones. Perhaps it’s this balance that allows me to convey a sense of lightness.
