All of those are true. What connects them is this: I use whatever tool the moment requires to help a person, community, or culture see its own legacy in real time.
My tools are interchangeable. The intention behind them is always the same: to create the conditions where something more true can emerge than any of us could have made alone.
Burner Podcast is my longest-running cultural architecture project. Burners are a culture and a community that exists year-round, on their own terms. The podcast is a central focus point to help mirror how the community tells its own story - independent of any single organization or event.
When I direct a music video, I don't show up with a vision and tell everyone to execute it. I create an environment where every artist can bring their own story and voice. The final video is a document of the community we created and the culture that came together that day.
When I photograph someone, I am not imposing my will and vision on them. The images we make are a co-creation.
The output - the photo, the video, the podcast - is just the documentation.
The culture and the community that made it is my real work.
-Arash