60 Seconds is a project about the 1990 Manjil-Rudbar earthquake. The title of the project refers to the duration of the earthquake, which lasted for sixty seconds. This earthquake was extremely catastrophic and intense, and it is considered one of the most destructive earthquakes in the world. It resulted in the deaths of approximately 60,000 people and left 400,000 Iranians homeless. My family was among those affected by this tragedy. My mother lost almost all of her family members, including her parents. She has never looked at her family album since then. I was born a year after the disaster. Unlike my mother, I was curious about the people and faces depicted in their albums. I gazed at the individuals who were no longer on earth but remained within those pages. I have used some photos from this archive in my project. Additionally, I chose to capture images of the surviving people, their living and aging process, and the nature of Manjil. The project commences with a photograph of my parents and me in the region. In the other images, I aim to capture the untamed winds seeming to uproot the sturdy trees and other natural scenes, representing the sublime nature and infinite power of Manjil. I also try to listen to the people's narratives about their living experiences and how their lives are intertwined with nature. It seems that life and nature prevail over the impermanence and vulnerability of human beings, and still, people are living and the planet grows out of the destroyed houses.
