THIS IS NO FANTASY presents ‘Archive of Longing’, a solo exhibition by Ali Tahayori.

In this deeply personal project, Tahayori revisits an inherited archive of family photographs, searching for moments of love, intimacy, and belonging that escape conventional narratives. He re-photographs, enlarges, and prints these images onto glass, which he then fractures and reassembles into sculptural reliefs.
Referencing 19th-century techniques like wet plate negatives and daguerreotypes, the use of glass evokes both sharpness and fragility. As the viewer moves around each piece, the image shifts – mirroring the instability of memory and the complexity of queer diasporic identity. The broken surfaces return the viewer’s gaze like mirrors, reflecting on family, loss, and the search for connection across time and cultural displacement.

Special event: Artist in conversation with Tahmina Maskinyar, Curator at Westspace, Melbourne on Saturday 06 September, 2 – 4pm