Yalda Night is a project that connects poetry and experimental typography. I have attempted to explore physicality in type and to make the words come alive through photography and light projection. Yalda Night narrates my attempts at interpreting traditional poems in a real world fraught with cultural and visual conflicts.
I chose the poems of the renowned Persian philosopher, mathematician, and poet Omar Khayyam (1048Ð1131), which have inspired my perspective on life. Khayyam tried to make his readers conscious of the many possibilities that life affords and enjoy every moment of life, as it is precious.
Yalda night is the Persian winter solstice celebration when family and close friends would get together. It included customs like reading poetry, intended to protect people from misfortune. As the 13th-century Persian poet SaÕdi wrote, ÒThe true morning will not come, until the Yalda Night is goneÓ.