Hope in the Rain
BY MEHRDAD VAHED YOUSEFABAD
Hope in the Rain centers around the Urmia Lake, which was, at its peak, the 6th largest saltwater lake in the world. It draws attention to how human action such as dam building and illegal drilling caused the lake to dry up. Luckily, in 2019, winter and spring rains gave the lake a new lease of life, with the continued rainfall meaning the lake’s water supply was somewhat replenished. Yousefabad’s photography serves as a reminder of the significance of the natural environment in protecting us from disaster.
ABOUT MEHRDAD
Mehrdad Vahed is a photographer and university lecturer based in Tabriz, Iran, where he teaches in the Faculty of Art and Architecture at IAUT. With an academic background in Mechatronics, he turned to photography in 2015, focusing his creative lens on long-term projects that explore urban life and environmental transformation. His work investigates the evolving relationship between people and place, often set against the backdrop of shifting cityscapes and cultural memory. Mehrdad’s projects—Hope in the Rain, Landscapes Undergoing Change!, and The Last Portrait—have been recognized as finalists in several international photography festivals. In 2023, he published his first photobook, Unknown Tabriz, a visual documentation of the city’s rapidly changing historical fabric. Through a poetic yet precise approach, Mehrdad continues to chronicle the quiet tensions of urban transition.