For Mehrdad Mosaferi, the sea has never been a landscape to observe from a distance. Born and raised in Bandar Abbas, on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, the photographer has lived it since childhood as part of everyday life and of his own memory. From this bond comes Tide, a photographic project that explores the relationship between people and the Persian Gulf from within.

Swimming, fishing, crossing the water, staying to watch the horizon. These are simple gestures, shared by those who grew up along the coast, and it is precisely on these familiar encounters that Mosaferi’s photographs focus, weaving his memories together with those of others.

The Persian Gulf is often at the center of news about politics and the energy trade. Mehrdad Mosaferi chooses a different direction and looks to the daily lives, expectations and dreams that take shape in the quiet of the shoreline. The larger political and economic forces are not ignored, but they remain in the background, often invisible presences that have shaped the experience and collective memory of those who inhabit this coastline.

At the heart of the project is the tide, which becomes a metaphor for arrival and departure, hope and absence, remaining and passing. Just as the sea continually redraws the shore, life on this coast moves between change and continuity, between waiting and hope.

Tide is part of the broader Persian Gulf project, conceived as a living visual archive of the region’s stories, landscapes, traditions and human experiences. Rather than a finished survey, it is a body of work that continues to grow through new chapters and new encounters.