Untitled (from the Trees and Crows series)

In his quest to find the perfect film location, Iranian photographer and acclaimed film-maker Abbas Kiarostami stumbled across stunningly desolate areas of Iran which he spontaneously captured into still images. Offering a sense of serenity in his works, Kiarostami takes the viewer on a wondrous exploration of nature and a world of meaning within his minimalist style. In Untitled (from the Trees and Crows series), Kiarostami offers a reinterpretation of the classical landscape as he adheres to the rules of artistic composition. It evokes a magnificent sense of meditative solitude that highlights the impact of nature that Kiarostami is compelled to share.
The framing and the composition is based on the rhythm of the trees, analogous to growth and life. Within the colossal presence of these trunks one does not see either the ground or the sky, and in doing so, Kiarostami highlights the symbolic connection of the trees between Heaven and Earth.
Although a crow is not present in this particular composition, the series is meant to capture the passing of time. The crow an ancient symbol, represents the passage of time and symbolises the journey of life that is highlighted in the texture of the tree barks. In Kiarostami's tight composition, the viewer loses the sense of the three dimensional quality of the trees which become rendered flat and two dimensional. What results is an eerily painterly-like quality to the work, urging the viewer to transcend the blinkered realm of material, human concerns and embrace the majesty and permanence of nature.