Farhad Ahrarnia

Rose Issa Projects, London

Beirut, Beirut Exhibition Centre, Zendegi, 2011

Rose Issa, Ed., Farhad Ahrarnia: Canary in a Coal Mine, London 2011, p. 24

Through the act of appropriation and needlework, Ahrarnia explores the various tensions that arise when contemporary Iranians attempt to negotiate and reconcile deep-rooted traditions with the force and consequences of modernity. His practice exists at the cusp of craft and informal architecture, whereby he applies the core principles of architecture as a means to probe the semiotics of culture and power in society. Ahrarnia applies these codes within his colourful hand-embroidered practice and acute needlework, which he layers upon and punctures into the surface of iconic imagery. The artist metaphorically addresses neglected parts of the Iranian culture, and the impact of Westernisation, such as the influence of American movies. Black and white stills of Hollywood idols are enlarged and then sketched over in vividly pigmented threads.

"In a direct reference to Sergei Eisenstein's theory of cinematic montage, I tend to gravitate toward locating and juxtaposing specific yet seemingly incongruous and disparate set of found imageries, in order to create an alternative space of a 'tableau' for constructing and deciphering a new set of contemporary associations and open ended meanings. This work attempts to mediate and capture those ambivalent feelings and positions which rose and continue to exist toward the consumption of Western Cinematic products in both pre and post-revolutionary Iran. Alas bombarded by 'American Hollywood Imagery', with a great degree of curiosity, anticipation and much anxiety and angst, we tend to continue shaping, articulating and positioning our modernity and cultural relevance in relation to those templates offered on the 'Big Screen'. The embroidered modernist inspired shapes, influenced by Malevich and Moholy Nagy, and the sharpness of the tip of needles imbedded in the surface of the work, interweave and heighten the state of cultural instability and intrusion which can easily and invariably double and be read as acts of harmonious cultural interplay and constant re-positioning. "

Farhad Ahrarnia