23 years and 6 months, 8 hours in the dark every day

The mining operation in the Tazareh region is one of the southern regions of the Alborz mountain range, which started with the cooperation and technology of the former republics of the Soviet Union in 1969. The production capacity of the Tazareh mining complex is 125,000 tons per year, which is the result of the efforts of 800 workers in this complex. In some places, miners work at a depth of 2500 metres in the Alborz mountains in a humid and suffocating environment with low safety. Each miner is supposed to extract six tons of coal daily by the end of their working hours, and no one is allowed to finish the work until they reach the set amount. After enduring twenty-three years and six months working in the mine, they retire. And from then on, they work on contracts with lower salaries and more difficult working conditions.

Ali Soltani Tehrani is a visual artist and photographer. His recent creation in documentary photography reflects his personal perception in exposure to the facts. Also, they depict his application of conceptual attitude in facing those facts when it comes to documentary photography.