6-7pm: Morehshin Allahyari will discuss her current exhibition, Re: apologies to the many wonderful Iranians
Standing behind the windows; Unable to reach or to pass through. The past and present meeting in one spot; Places and objects slowly fragmenting, deforming, fading in and out, coming together, splitting apart; Witnessing things falling through…The blurry memories of my childhood from war, fusing into the same feelings of numbness and helplessness where I stand today.
Re: Apologies to the Many Wonderful Iranians is an installation that explores and combines personal memories of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) with the constant awareness of life filled with drumbeats of war against Iran and the intensified sanctions targeting the lives of the Iranian people. It is a response to the recent unethical and proud reports and discussions that praise sanctions and wars on Iran to stop the Iranian government’s nuclear activities; Rejecting and ignoring the results of sanctions on the lives of the ordinary people and their suffering; Forgetting the mentally and emotionally exhausted citizens, floating between political wars. Legitimatizing mass slaughter that sanctions accompany. Keeping the invisible war invisible without filling-in the gaps.
*In Summer of 2012, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times went to Iran and within his return to the U.S. in one of his reports named Pinched and Griping in Iran (June 2012) wrote: “…with apologies to the many wonderful Iranians who showered me with hospitality, I favor sanctions because I don’t see any other way to pressure the regime on the nuclear issue or ease its grip on power. My takeaway is that sanctions are working pretty well.”
Morehshin Allahyari is a new media artist and an art activist. She was born and raised in Iran and moved to the United States in 2007. Morehshin’s creative and research interest encompasses 3D animation, digital filmmaking, web-art / design, performance and extensive activity as a curator and producer. The topics of her practice include the social, political and cultural issues of Iran, creative writing, art activism, media art, and collaborative art. Morehshin’s animated films and curatorial projects have received worldwide acclaim. She has participated in exhibitions, festivals, and conferences across the world including Tehran, Denver (TEDx conference), Chicago, New York, The 7th Berlin International Directors Lounge in Germany, the 25th European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück, The Taubman Museum of Art in Virginia, and Arad Art Museum in Romania. Morehshin is currently an adjunct faculty at the University of North Texas (New Media Art) and University of Texas Dallas (Emerging Media and Communication).
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
