I Was Waiting for You to Fly
A taxidermized flamingo once given to Masoumeh as a gift lies at the heart of Tears of Motherland – a project born from her lifelong connection to Iran’s Caspian Sea, now under environmental threat. She has spent eight years photographing this region, where the degradation of ecosystems and the growing impact of climate change have become symbols of both collective and personal loss. Rooted in memory and in the lives of local communities, the work traces the echo of a wound that endures within her and the vanishing landscape.
“My uncle Parviz was one of the region’s well-known hunters and a collector of taxidermied birds. He once gave us one that became my childhood nightmare. In recent years, hunting permits have been canceled due to drought and the sharp decline in bird populations. After his death, I brought his preserved birds back to Miankaleh — where they were once caught — and photographed them.” Masoumeh Bahrami, Mazandaran, Iran, 27 October 2025
A fisherman prays, thanking God for his catch after several days without success. Mazandaran, Iran, 12 January 2024
A view of an abandoned boat on Ashuradeh Island, part of the Miankaleh Peninsula, about ten kilometers west of Bandar Torkaman in Golestan Province. The island has been deserted for around 20 years following a devastating flood. Surrounded by wetlands, it remains an important ecological haven for numerous migratory birds. Mazandaran, Iran, 17 March 2023
In January 2020, the media reported the mysterious deaths of more than 40,000 migratory birds on the Miankaleh Peninsula. A week later, the Veterinary Organization identified botulinum poisoning as the cause. For the second consecutive year, botulism has led to mass bird deaths in Miankaleh and Gorgan Bay, spreading as far as Ashuradeh Island, according to IRNA. Mazandaran, Iran, 19 February 2021
A view of an abandoned boat on Ashuradeh Island in Golestan, Iran, on 17 March 2023. The island has been deserted for about 20 years following a severe flood and is located on the Miankaleh Peninsula, 10 km west of Bandar Torkaman in Golestan Province. The tiny island and the surrounding wetlands provide a rich ecological habitat for numerous migratory birds and play an important role in the region’s natural environment.
