Bridges

In 2018, while living in Isfahan, I began photographing the city’s newer concrete bridges from beneath them. Isfahan is strongly associated with its historic bridges, which are among its most recognised architectural landmarks. My attention moved instead towards the functional bridges built for contemporary traffic, structures that are crossed every day but rarely examined from below. At the time, the Zayandeh Rud was largely dry. The exposed riverbed made it possible to walk beneath these bridges and enter spaces that would otherwise have been inaccessible. From this position, their familiar purpose became less important than their physical presence. Concrete spans, repeated supports, shadows and painted-over markings formed an unfamiliar landscape within the city. The photographs do not attempt to represent each bridge as a complete structure. They concentrate on fragments, surfaces and the visual order created underneath them. Bridges considers how changing one’s physical position can redirect attention, from celebrated monuments to overlooked infrastructure, and from the view offered by a city to the spaces it leaves beneath itself.