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19+1 – The Way We Are

Solo exhibition of Fatemeh Bahman Siyahmard

Completion of a Trilogy
Opening on December 11th, 2020
On view until December 28th, 2020

The Geography of Suspension, 2017
In the exhaustion between Earth and Sky, where gravity exists, right in the middle of planet Earth, where nothing is permanent, there is a haven, where everything is suspended; positives and negatives as well as decimals. Elements connected to each other with numerous threads float in a state of suspension, a concoction of highs and lows. And concepts away from the reality of the world march between time and space; fear, security, and joy of discovery, are at play in this fluid and circular geography. Artist’s deliberations were precise and astute, and her hopes and fears were revealed in the pores of her sculptures. This spectacular hubbub revealed slices of lived experiences that are indicators of artists’ inquisitive minds and fantastical subjectivity. In this world, ultimately, everything reaches an equilibrium.
The Challenge of Elements, 2019
The continued chaos – part of our daily life – next to complexity and state of suspension, in conjunction with the forced injection of order and stability, were among the characteristics of that collection. Playing within the border lines of three-dimensional statues and flat surfaces of paintings was consciously undertaken by the artist to move the viewer – even for a fraction of a second to a suspended state and to create confusion between surface and three-dimensionality. A fluid passage between two and three dimensions started and was completed simultaneously. Ultimately while the works spatially took up the space but were paintings made on the surface.
The audience faced another kind of suspension; the challenge of elements that twist, turn, and the blend was accentuated and moved through time and space to reach equilibrium and display part of life’s challenges and splendor.
19+1
The Way We Are, 2020
In this particular time of scarcities and avalanche of events and at a time of numerous domestic and foreign struggles; sanctions, inflation, recession, environmental issues, and lastly, Covid 19, this series of works has come to its end. The contradictions of our daily life can be seen in each corner. Ultimately, it was done in a game of hiding and seeking next to challenges of production and implementation, despite all difficulties.
There are still those invisible threads that sustain the state of suspension. More than before, they picture the stress and apprehensions of the moment right before the incident happens. As if we are at the last minute. The minute where everything from beginning to end passes through our mind. Frozen and silent. As if we are waiting for a meteorite to pass or for all the icebergs to melt so that finally the threads are released, and we are in a state of suspension, arriving at the point of occurrence. Now the series 19+1 is standing on its point of inception and completion, its birth and death.