In Paradise City, Sébastien Cuvelier follows a manuscript written by his late uncle about a journey to Persepolis nearly fifty years earlier. Published by GOST Books in 2020, the book layers Cuvelier’s own photographs from Iran over his uncle’s diary, setting two travels into conversation. The result is not a conventional travelogue but a search for an elusive, dreamlike version of paradise. It reflects on how the same country can be imagined, remembered, and lived in very different ways.

The Iran depicted in the uncle’s writings and photographs—which later surfaced in a briefcase—was far removed from the one Cuvelier encountered. The 1979 revolution transformed the country into a state in which citizens’ lives are restricted, and its young, connected population constantly adjusts to circumvent the limitations imposed by the government. Many yearn to leave; they seek paradise but are unsure where to look. Cuvelier tries to reflect that pursuit in photographs that are metaphorical, fleeting, and illusive. Views, gardens, people, and buildings are often physically hidden or veiled by material, foliage, darkness, vantage point, or shadow. Each image appears like a piece of an intangible jigsaw, combining what once was or could be with the present.

The book’s structure—photographs layered on a diary—makes it a work of sequencing and juxtaposition as much as of individual pictures. The glimpses of contemporary Iran are at times romanticized, nostalgic, or even utopian, seen not only through Cuvelier’s eyes but also through those of the people he met. Paradise City is a considered example of how photography can hold historical rupture and personal memory in the same frame. Its 128 pages and hardback binding make it a coherent object.