Mohammad Reza Masoumi

Contest entry

This black-and-white image of the Sefid Chah Cemetery unexpectedly presents a composition of random mathematical patterns. At the center of the image, a veiled woman stands as the focal point, drawing the viewer’s attention. This central-axis composition weaves the intricate surrounding structure into her presence, making her the core of meaning within the chaotic arrangement.

The stone graves, scattered in various directions, form a seemingly random distribution that evokes unexpected statistical patterns. At first glance, they appear disordered, yet they possess an underlying structure and coherence. These patterns take the shape of diagonal, vertical, and horizontal lines, aligned in a way that resembles a random network often seen in natural geometry.

The symmetry observed here is asymmetric, where hidden order emerges from apparent chaos. This phenomenon is reminiscent of maximalist complexity, where abundant details accumulate within a space, forming a comprehensible whole despite their scattered nature.

The graves resemble mathematical points on a coordinate plane, randomly positioned yet subtly connected through invisible hypothetical lines. This irregular distribution hints at a form of random geometry, as if following an unknown algorithm.

The image powerfully conveys the contrast between human presence and natural disorder. 

Artist biography

Mohammad Reza Masoumi was born on August, 1984 in Iran / Tehran. He is an instructor of photography and computer graphics, and has a Master's degree in photography (second degree in art from the Council for the Evaluation of Artists). He has graduated from the field of restoration of historic and worn-out historical buildings.

Mohammad is an Art director of www.Sib.Gallery. He has won numerous awards and gold medals for photography from international festivals of countries, such USA,  UK, Spain, France, Austria, Belgium, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Japan, China, Qatar and many others. He has also been the best participant in the Middle East and Arab countries. Mohammad Reza is also an international judge in prestigious photography festivals.

He has been teaching visual literacy (colorology - composition - introductory and advanced photography - lighting) in visual arts for many years and has prepared and edited various articles, workshops and videos in cooperation with prestigious Iranian universities. He is also a permanent and honorary member of the Contemporary Arts Museum and Visual Arts Development Center. He is an official member of the Photographers and Videographers Union of Tehran and is also an official member of the Iranian Photographers Association.