VISIBILITY

“Every Iranian artist in one or another form is political” — Shirin Neshat

In a country like Iran, an artist is inherently a displaced person. The art questions, suggests, proposes and at times agitates. These qualities are difficult if not impossible to thrive under the oppressive regime. Witnessing the demise of many artists in Iran who would eventually abandon their practice because of persecution or loss of ability and opportunity for expression. As I grew up I began to understand the contrast between the inside and outside world in Iran, the inside or home where one is able to express themselves and the outside world where the freedom of the individual has been affected by the Islamic Regime in Iran. Experiencing these two worlds started to shape me as a person who inherited a broken and confused religious land from the previous generation. Freedom of expression is the goal and drive for any artist, even more so if the environment within which the art is conceived is restrictive, even dangerous. It was this experience and force within my life which continues to drive my practice and gives it purpose.

I have been compelled to create a body of work that speaks to the diversity of my experiences and the persona that was being shaped by those. Experiencing life as an Iranian citizen, as a subversive queer activist, a refugee and an Australian afford an expansive potentiality to my future practice. What began as an exploration and a conversation within the queer community provoked more questions around the limitations of this conversation and how to express my political position in my art practice more efficiently, visibly. My art practice was often within a queer context but as my ideas and interests mature, I see my work engaging with a broader audience in a community-focused and public art sphere. Within these spheres my future art practice will continue to address potentially agitating issues such as political views, queerness and the parameters of personal freedom. It will be a catalyst for conversation, understanding and an invitation to consider issues surrounding personal identity and its meaning for the viewer.

My future art practice has a deeper understanding of materials through the process of making. The work has become a form of communication, a language, an approach, a way of sculpting an idea or concept for a wider audience to digest. These tactile materials and elements have symbolic and traditional aspects embedded within them. The work also considers the use of these materials through a lens of sustainability and eco-ethics. This is not necessarily a new concept for me as in Iran an artist, even a practicing commercially viable artist has to find ways of using materials sparingly and in the way that best serves the concept of the artwork. The material selection will also have a direct connection to ethical issues and will be a means of asserting a point of view. Insourcing materials to use for my artwork I will have also considered their impact as well as the message they convey to my audience or agenda.

It is the combination of deep material understanding and intense purpose which have made my art practice more visible to a new audience in various spheres, contexts and countries. This novel approach to making my work has made it visible, comprehensible and meaningful. The future art practice is the medium which allows me the freedom of expression so desperately desired for in my early experiences as an artist in Iran.