“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
-Rumi (maybe)
A book of photography exploring identity, perception, and the fabric of underground American culture.
Mildly Threatening Ethnically Ambiguous is an ongoing photography and storytelling project chronicling over a decade of work at the intersection of art, culture, and subversive visibility. Equal parts book, brand, and philosophical artifact, MTEA explores how marginalized identities navigate—and shape—the American experience through art, fashion, protest, and community.
Told through Arash Afshar’s personal lens—shaped by years embedded in the Southern California hip hop scene, underground dance music culture, and the broader countercultural arts movement—MTEA uses SoCal as a frontline case study in the American culture war. Revisiting a vast archive of photos, Arash now approaches this work as a kind of street-level journalist and cultural ethnographer, examining the overlooked stories, aesthetics, and identities that challenge dominant narratives.
What began as a collection of portraits evolved into a deeper study of duality: how “otherness” becomes both a threat and a mirror in the dominant cultural narrative. This project is currently being developed as a limited-edition photo book, a line of concept-based merchandise, and a platform for conversation around cultural leadership, aesthetics, and survival.
About the Artist (MTEA Edition)
Arash Afshar is a multi-disciplinary artist and cultural strategist whose work blends evocative photography, cultural documentation, and philosophical storytelling. With over 15 years of experience spanning commercial, editorial, and community-based creative projects, Arash has become known for capturing the essence of individuals and movements that shape the edges of culture.
MTEA is his most personal body of work to date—a photographic memoir wrapped in political nuance and artistic rebellion. Drawing from his Iranian-American background, years immersed in underground creative communities, and a career straddling both official institutions and radical subcultures, Arash uses the camera to question who gets to be seen, and how.
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