Navigating an Archive in a Euphoric / Diasporic Mode

The archive is not a static, neutral repository but a complex space that demands active, critical engagement. It suggests a journey, a process of discovery, and at times a constant struggle with categorisation, access, and interpretation.

The euphoric mode of accessing the past is not concerned with narrative or interpretation (what Ernst calls “the historic mode”) but with the raw, material signal of the past itself. In the context of moving images, this mode engages with the filmstrip, the magnetic patterns on videotape, the digital code, the glitches, the decay, and the format itself—the medium as a time-based object. It emphasises the presence of the past in its technological form. In the Iranian context, this approach involves analysing the materiality of 8mm home movies, the grain of pre-revolutionary film stock, the aesthetic of VHS tapes from the Iran-Iraq War era, and the compression artifacts of early digital videos. Taken together, these fragments construct an essential – yet ephemeral – subject of research.

Meanwhile, the diasporic mode of navigation allows the archive to be approached from a position of physical and often cultural distance from the images’ point of origin.

This position is not always a deliberate choice; it frequently arises in the absence of infrastructure, public interest, and institutional support, shaped by the peculiarities of the medium and its sociopolitical environment. In his presentation, Amirali will shed light on diverse attempts at archiving and counter-archiving strategies over four decades in Iran.

Amirali Ghasemi (b. 1980, Iran) is an independent curator, media artist, and researcher based in Berlin. He earned his B.A. in Graphic Design from Central Tehran Azad University (2004), with a specialization in digital art history. In 1998, he founded Parkingallery, an independent project space in Tehran, which he later expanded into an online platform for emerging Iranian artists (2002).

This was followed by the establishment of Parking Video Library (2004). Ghasemi has exhibited internationally and curated numerous exhibitions, including The Urban Jealousy: 1st Roaming Biennial of Tehran (2008–09), Iran & Co., Archive and Exhibition Elephant in the Dark, and eight editions of Limited Access Festival (2007–19). He co-founded New Media Society (2014) and Room for Doubt, a nomadic project space (2022).

His curatorial practice explores text, photography, and interactive media across diverse contexts worldwide. He is currently working on his debut book, Our Digital Past, which examines the shift from analogue to digital imaginaries and its impact on the production of independent and experimental moving images.