Statement:

"Big Fish" is a symbolic and autobiographical work based on the effects of more than 20 years of depression on the mother of Iranian artist Morteza Niknahad. In the early 1990s, Havva has a dream that predicts a difficult phase in her life. She suffered from a mysterious illness, linked, according to doctors, to spiritual residues from events in her past. Years later, she tells of the strange creature from her dream, who has remained with her against her will all these years, wounded and tamed.///

What is life like for a family when the matriarch lives with the effects of depression for years? The artist works from his own experience and observation, in addition to researching family archives, recent portraits of this family and extensive dialogues with the people who lived with his mother. The lingering presence of depression is symbolized by a large fish – a visible, external representation of the condition Havva struggles with on a daily basis.

The fish is often conspicuously placed between its mother and other family members, as if it were a dividing line reinforcing a distance. In the images, Niknahad's mother also turns away from the photographic lens, echoing old family photographs in which she tended to turn away from the camera.

The series is inspired by two Iranian legends: Damahi and Melmadas. Damahi, “a legend of love and salvation”, is the name given to a large fish, said to have lived along the southern coast of Iran, and which helped the local population. Meanwhile, Melmadas refers to a mermaid-like creature that would seduce men before destroying them. The artist chose to tie his series to these two myths, because in the "ocean" of his mother's mind, she too "fought a creature" that was capable of both helping and harming.

The exhibition of Morteza Niknahad's artworks entitled "Big Fish" takes place at the 20th Fotorio Festival (Rio de Janeiro-Brazil) from 26 August to 8 October.