The CASE, 2007, Photographic series [19 Digital Print 120 x 90 cm]

The child’s tiny warm hand seemed to melt away in a cold firm clutch of another hand while chasing a pace of the man on its slender shaky legs.
He paused to cross a street in between two parked cars. For the child that way through seemed to be as huge as the gap between blocks of houses. While waiting for a good mo-ment to cross a street through thick traffic, the man’s gaze rested on the little girl’s eyes that starred back at him. A few ticks of silence, a few seconds of wordless communication, just like gazing at one’s blank face in a mirror. The girl suddenly pulls her hand away and runs across the street towards the other side.
Screeching of car wheels wakes him up. Tired and disorientated, he rushes to the child.
”Why run away?” Chalky faced girl lying on the side while she looks at the man with her sleepy eyes. Offering no answer, she asks her-self: “Why did I have to run?”, “Why did he hold my hand so tight?”, “Why didn’t he carry me over?”, “If only the parked cars weren’t as high”, “If only I were a boy”...
..a circle of continuations...never ending beginnings...caught in a trap..
She could not stop searching for an answer or a reason for the accident as she looked at her father’s beautiful eyes that were hidden behind a curtain of crime.

Written & Directed Shahram Entekhabi
Photography David Bornscheuer