artist statement
"We know that the earliest art works originated in the service of a ritual-first the magical, then the religious kind. It is significant that the existence of the work of art with reference to its aura is never entirely separated from its ritual function*.
*The definition of the aura as a "unique phenomenon of a distance however close it may be" represents nothing but the formulation of the cult value of the work of art in categories of space and time perception. Distance is the opposite of closeness. The essentially distant object is the unapproachable one. Unapproachability is indeed a major quality of the cult image. True to its nature, it remains "distant however close it may be." The closeness which one may gain from its subject matter does not impair the distance which it retains in its appearance."
- Walter Benjamin
My work is a hybridization of artistic mediums. My art combines fabric with photography, wood with metal, hair with clay, and other mixtures of materials. These combinations confront a postmodern reality of the reconstructed. The juxtaposition of these different mediums, the textures and fabrics, releases each medium’s critical form. By creating tensions and criticality between media, I can more freely expose the ritual in dialogue with the aesthetic. The principles of my work are a culmination and exploration of my Iranian heritage and foundations through imagery.
The images in my photographic work, bindings, are distorted recreations of myself that represent masochism in the psychic development of a woman in a patriarchal society. Further, the nudity of the skin, punctured, reflects a separation from the body of the maternal mother, the mother that is Iran and the mother that raised me. The tension of the aesthetic contrast within the images creates a subaltern feminist story and female body.
Also, in khanevade va eeyb, I have begun to explore hijab by creating dolls fashioned from clay, fabric, and other materials. The dolls are aesthetically designed in sinister forms to disturb and provoke an emotional response. They utilize draped fabric and covered heads, but make these uncanny through threatening postures and the assignation of religious titles to the dolls, which is a taboo under Islam. The dolls are a subversive exploration of Religion. In addition, my recent exploration of the ritual of family has led to the creation of humanoid half figures made of clay, dressed with human hair and paint. Often, the sculptures are arranged in pairs or groups, exploring the dynamic of the familial relationship through the grotesque sublime.
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