What Lies Beneath (2nd Edition)*
Group Show at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde
Dubai
2012
This series of embroideries contain excerpts from Shahnama (‘The Book of Kings’ by Persian poet Ferdowsi, 940-1020 CE). The drawings are inspired by a vast array of folksy and traditional visual sources from different periods of time. A line of Poem taken out of its context to describe existence shadowed by the horrors of demons, as well as hope for a life free of them. I mock, taunt, and challenge, presenting playful offerings of hope as well as despair and doom.
* What Lies Beneath (2nd Edition) is the title of the group exhibition. This body of work is untitled.
Translation of the calligraphy: The World Fills with Benevolence and Peace/ the Demon's Hands Are Tied and His Plots Cut Short
Embroidery on velvet, Triptych (Middle piece: 63x47 inches, two side pieces: each 51x22 inches)
Translation of the calligraphy: I am the Most Sinful Person / For I am Seized by the Demon
Embroidery on velvet, 63x47 inches
Embroidery on velvet, 63x47 inches
What Lies Beneath*
Group show at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde
Dubai
2011
Our Cow Doesn't Give Milk, But God bless Its Piss!
The embroidery medium taken out of a traditional cult that uses embroidery banners in religious mourning ceremonies. Originally, these banners were designed with calligraphy of holy names and outline drawings of religious characters and heavily decorated with ornaments. The words are traditionally embroidered on black fabrics and hang indoors and outdoors in places of worship, alleys and bazaars.
Here I use this medium in a secular context and think about the surface as a space for narration. In this piece, the calligraphy imitates the rough and unpolished folksy style of writing. Here, I have taken out the classic content and put in a vulgar Iranian proverb in shiny colors.
* What Lies Beneath is the title of the group exhibition. This body of work is titled Our Cow Doesn't Give Milk, But God bless Its Piss! (English translation of the embroidered calligraphy)
