It was a wonderful experience to be commissioned to create the music cover for Ghobar. A long time ago, I had shared my love for the poem “Goun” by Shafiei Ghodkani on my Instagram story. Mr. Haghshenas, who saw this, asked me to collaborate on a piece called Ghobar, which is based on this poem. And what could be better than working on a project that you are passionate about from an intellectual point of view!
Mohammad Shafiei Kadkani is an Iranian poet, translator, researcher, and university professor who was born in Sabzevar in 1939. Kadkani, one of the most famous Persian poets, is one of my favorite poets not only for his beautiful poetry but also for his humility and generosity.
the poem
«به کجا چنین شتابان؟» گَوَن از نسیم پرسید «دلِ من گرفته زینجا هوس سفر نداری ز غبار این بیابان؟» «همه آرزویم، اما چه کنم که بسته پایم…» «به کجا چنین شتابان؟» «به هر آن کجا که باشد به جز این سرا سرایم» «سفرت به خیر! اما، تو و دوستی، خدا را چو ازین کویرِ وحشت به سلامتی گذشتی به شکوفه ها به باران برسان سلامِ ما را»
What is the rush and where are you going to? The desert flower asks the breeze! I am depressed here, replies the breeze! This desert and its sands and you should also leave! I wish I could, stuck in the ground are though my feet! So where are you rushing to? Anywhere except here to be! Have a safe journey from this awful desert and please! Give my regards to blossoms, rain and trees!
?what was my story
After listening to the piece and receiving the song brief, and getting closer to the collective vision of the group that produced this music, I started working. My idea was to show a desert that represents this conversation between “Gon” and the wind. A desert full of dust, full of sand. In the background of this piece, I brought the four instruments that I had a role in producing, and placed them behind this dust. A reference to the current atmosphere of Iranian society where arts are condemned to be behind the dust.
used the ‘Neyriz’ script for the font, which was developed by Ahmad Neyrizi. This script, in addition to its classical characteristics that resonate with our traditional music, has unique Iranian features that distinguish it from other Naskh scripts.
final resault
print
client: h. saneei fard
TASK: POSTER DESIGN
TIME: July 2023
how it start
In July 2023, I was offered the opportunity to design the poster for a staged reading of the play “Print”. The author and director of this play was dear Mr. Hamidreza Sanee’far, and the general outline of the play that they told me was very captivating, and I was eager to take on this project. So, we arranged a day to watch their rehearsals and listen to the full text of the play.
:CONCEPT
The play revolves around an event that the protagonist encounters from the very beginning. The main character of the play faces another person in his room who claims to have arrived from the usual route and brought the package that the protagonist had ordered, while the protagonist denies this. The story continues with the protagonist’s efforts to find the key and realizes along the way that many others have lost their keys as well!
!first idea - overdone
For the visual section, I initially tried to show a key inside a cage. The initial drafts were good, but I thought it was too overdone. My idea was that the key in this play is a symbol of humans. Humans are the very keys they are constantly searching for but are looking in the wrong places. The problem can only be solved by this key, but it’s useless because the main problem is not seen. As a result, this key is not good for opening the lock that is on its own body. I thought this key and lock were enough for the poster’s visual part, and there was no need for a cage. So I dropped this idea.
the end
In the end, I arrived at the final poster by adding a layout that was used for the event. Fortunately, I was able to achieve what I had in mind and add a conceptual dimension to the play through the poster. I think it is important for a poster to have its own independent identity as a standalone work.