SHOLEH ASGARY

Named after the ancient pre-Zorastrian goddess of water, viewers are invited to interact with water clocks in a dimly blue-lit room painted photographic 18% gray, containing plaster fingers that are painted the same shade of gray in reference to the violence of visual technology as measured by 18% reflectance in visible light. The walls are amplified with the sound of water, translating into a deep rumbling against the soothing ambiance of water trickling through the water clocks in the center of the room. Water clocks were the earliest time-telling methods. In ancient Iran, they served as a tool to determine the precise time of solstices and as a sharecropping tool to ensure equal water distribution. The water clocks in Anahita are speculative, representing units of relational experience as the viewer's interactions are cast into the water and reflected onto the ceiling as light. What if water determined our time?

Anahita, classified as a syncretistic goddess, has undergone modification and adaptation by patriarchies through empire and religion. In this piece, Anahita is interwoven by challenging the linear history often dominated by patriarchal narratives. Instead, it explores speculative connections among historical elements within Islam, the management of water and time, labor, and warfare.