Mehrdad Mohebali’s work reminds me of two people I really like: Woody Allen and Dr. Who.

Woody Allen, the man who always makes a presence in his own films, sometimes as the central womaniser, sometimes simply on the sidelines.

Dr. Who, the beloved british SciFi hero capable of moving between the past, the future and parallel worlds. In fact, he can even make parallel worlds.

Mehrdad also always makes an appearance in his own work, but sometimes you wonder why he is there or what he is really up to:

The surgeon.

The grieving stranger, gate crasher, or person with questionable motive.

The man who picks up a book to disguise his real motives for being there.

Just like Dr. Who, he takes his audiences to parallel worlds, on a journey of discovery – what is real, what could be real and what could have been real.

His work sometimes makes me wonder … is this Iran? Is this the Iran of our dreams? Or is this a time past and gone.

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Pictures courtesy of Etemad Gallery Dubai