Bahareh Zamannia
Bahareh Zaman is gifted the branch of a yew tree as the perfect jewel to honour an Iranian forest.
When I was working on the Damavand collection based on Moslem’s travels, I wondered what the final design of the collection would look like.
The Damavand collection includes seven necklaces. These necklaces are made from the photos that Moslem Irannezhad took during his trips to Damavand. Moslem is my cycle tourist friend who loves Mount Damavand.
For me, the glory and beauty of Damavand is overwhelming. Every time I see this mountain, I feel that I am a piece of nature, and Damavand is like a pure and intimate friendship that being by its side makes me walk in life with more self-confidence and enthusiasm.
Walking through the Hyrkani Natural Museum feels quite special to me.
The Hyrcanian forests are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about 55,000 square kilometres near the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania. The World Wide Fund for Nature refers to the ecoregion as the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests. Since 5 July 2019, the Hyrcanian Forests have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In September 2023, the heritage site expanded to incorporate portions of the forest located in Azerbaijan. This forest is 25 to 50 million years old (Paleogene period) and is considered one of the most valuable forests in the world and is known as a natural museum.
Whenever I get the chance to see Damavand in this forest, my soul feels refreshed. I sit here watching the precious heritage of my homeland for a few hours, and then putting my backpack on I head toward the Caspian Sea again. I wish I could come up with a beautiful story for glorious Damavand.
After a while, something green and incredible catches my attention. It is a two-thousand-year-old yew tree.
Now I have the story of finding a two-thousand-year-old yew tree, as well as a man who cherishes the mountains and Damavand. During his trip to the Hyrcanian forests, Moslem accidentally found a two-thousand-year-old yew tree and brought me a piece of its branch that had fallen to the ground. The yew tree is one of the endangered species of the Hyrkani forest.
The body of the tree was wet with the same cloud that stretched from the Caspian Sea to the foot of Alborz, and it breathed the same breeze that travelled around Damavand. Watching the tree, I noticed some pieces of its rotten branches scattered around it. Thinking of Bahareh, I took them.
A sixty-year-old branch that was rotting on the ground is now in my hands.
In the last decade, the illegal occupation of the Hyrcanian fabric, the construction of Roman-style villas, rapid construction and development, unsustainable tourism development, the illegal entry of off-road riding tours, the excessive grazing of several animals, soil and fire destroy the Hyrcanian forests. Its plant and animal diversity has become. Iran’s Environmental Protection Organization and the United Nations Development Program have started a five-year joint program to preserve the biodiversity of these forests.
Hoping for a better fate, I brought the branches.
As if, the legendary Phoenix was destined to rise from the white foothills of Damavand and the red heart of yew.So that Damavand will live eternally in its heart.
The Phoenix necklace, which was the last work of the Damavand collection, currently belongs to Moslem Irannezhad. The cut shape of the branch is similar to the map of Iran, which is also similar to Moslem’s surname. Phoenix was a magical story from nature and for nature.
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About Bahareh Zaman
I was born in Tehran. I am 33 years old and I travel to different cities with my backpack. I socialize with people and artists from each region and listen to their stories. In my journey, people and their stories or any scenery I see can inspire me to make a wooden work. Follow @baharehzamangallery
