It was the farthest point away from my ever-rainy city, in the middle of the month of Bahman, when the sun was at the highest point above the surface of the blue ocean. The whistling of the passenger launch took me to pursuit happiness: to “Hormuz”, where I met women who called me for the first time; a woman from an island whose sun burns and who sells handicrafts to achieve happiness. It was at this moment that the magic of this land cast a spell on me to confirm it. It was this spell that sent me to “Hengam” and “Qeshm”.
As a photographer who observes the pursuit of the happiness of residents and immigrants, I have traveled to the heart of these disturbances in the Persian Gulf. “Hormuz”, “Hengam” and “Qeshm” are among several islands that are on the verge of destruction, and this collection shows a small corner of this issue. My main issue for this project is to address the centrality of happiness in the lives of immigrants who seek refuge in the southern islands to get away from city life in order to find peace and freedom.