Akhbari's research revolves around the legends of ‘edible earth’ in connection to purported paranormal activities in the strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf. Inspired by a medieval illustration of a Portuguese courtyard on the Island of Hormuz, he looks at the ways in which myth-making plays a significant role in shaping the socio-cultural identity of trade-centric geographies. In the 16th century, during Portuguese colonial campaigns, tales about the existence of supernatural forces flooding European settlements in Hormuz circulated widely; and subsequently were depicted in the famous Códice Casanatense as a “technology against the intense heat!” Simultaneously, rumours about Hormuz’s inhabitants as lustful ‘earth eaters’ were rampant, giving rise to a series of odd phantasmagorias that facilitated the ‘othering’ and moral justification of colonial endeavours in the peripheries of the Indian Ocean. 

Akhbari's goal for pursuing this line of investigation over a 1-month research residency in Lisbon in 2021 followed by an exhibition, is to unsettle common political interpretations of middle-eastern industrial expansion as either a natural capitalist miracle or an unfortunate resource curse. He aims to highlight the role of constructed fiction in facilitating imperial occupation and to find a critical lens to unpack the spectres of various mythologies in the upkeep of neo-imperial hegemonies and continued proxy battles over ancient trade networks.