Niknahad’s new series, Southern Winds, combines his deep archive of the area with photographs taken since February 28. With the beginning of strikes and war, the Iranian government introduced sweeping restrictions, including over movement and access to the internet. As a result, he began taking pictures using his phone camera, rather than his usual analogue setup. Recent shots show people standing by the seaside, or on rooftops as black smoke billows from the distance. He explains that as the sea has become unsafe, fishermen have stopped going out to catch food, while maritime trade has stopped, drastically affecting the local economy.
“I only took the wartime photographs with a mobile phone, because it was not possible to photograph with a camera unless you were a photographer with official permits,” he says. “What made me leave the house was seeing something new and bitter. Ships burning at sea and the sky over the city turning black with smoke. I thought I had to document these historic moments so I could look back at them later and tell their story.”
Alongside these, Niknahad lays out old family portraits, as well as studio portraits of those who lived around the Strait of Hormuz’s islands – both as an exploration of his memory and roots in the area, but also highlighting how people’s lives and stories have always existed in the area. There’s photographs of local cultures and rituals, including the Zar healing ritual ceremony to groups of women riding around on motorcycles, as well as people of African descent who have lived there for generations.