I want to pose several questions without attempting to answer them myself.

1. What is a terrorist.
2. What are the origins of a terrorist.
3. In an international context, who defines "terrorist".
4. How does East meet West on the subject of terrorism.

Looking for a simple visual form for this project, I turned to a visual tradition stemming from old photo studios in remote, isolated towns and villages of the Middle East. Like the concept of terrorism itself, the said photographic form offers no direct link to reality, but is moulded by popular tastes, desires and fantasies.

The characters in this series are caring but non-idealistic individuals without the slightest ambition to change the world. They represent genuine men and women with familial, religious and traditional preoccupations who are busy living their own lives.

Many thanks to my mother, my sisters, my children and all the other family members whose pictures are included in the series. Special thanks to Mohammad Reza Ghahremani, my friend and assistant who helped me throughout the realisation of this work.