Her Voice
Sepideh Farzam
Gallery 3
Opening 04.09.19 6-8pm
Artist Talks 26.09.19 6-7pm
My work consists of using the characters from the Farsi alphabet in a rhythmic way. Their form and sound play a significant role in creation of my work. Some of alphabetic characters have round shapes and some with dots as part of their constituent. These dots specify the sound of the letters. Therefore, changing the position of dots changes the sound accordingly. In my artwork I mostly apply black to the lexical characters to symbolically exemplify the black veil in Iranian society, which I argue represents female abasement and subordination to patriarchy.
My aim is to be critical and complicit in my art effort. Therefore, for this exhibition, I am presenting a new body of work entitled ‘Her Voice’ in line with my existing works and research. I intend to reveal audio signs by means of visual representation. I make the alphabetic dots through repetition. I will play with their size and enlarge them, gather them together and create a big pile of dots in order to convey my message. This piece will represent her voice, her power and strength.
My work, ‘She is in Black’ consists of six enlarged Farsi alphabetic letters, arranged next to each other regardless of their actual alphabetic character and sounds. Round-shaped characters are chosen which metaphorically represent women in my work. Where there are dots, they are removed from the character to represent the loss of individual identity for women. The colour black addresses the veiling.
My works, ‘Black Carpet’, ‘Absence or Presence’ and ‘Unheard Voice’ are hand-knotted carpet made of silk and wool. ‘Black Carpet’ is a rectangular black carpet and one of the Farsi alphabetic letters is woven into it. Respectively, ‘Absence or Presence’ is square and has been divided into sixty-four pieces, equally in black and white, with two characters woven into mesh. ‘Unheard Voice’ is rectangular and has been divided into twenty equal squares. I have eliminated dots that ordinarily appear above or below a particular character. Thus, they are altered to only their unique alphabetic forms.
Images
Sepideh Farzam, She is in Black, 2010, MDF, 200x170x3.2 cm (approx. each letter)
Sepideh Farzam, Black Carpet, 2012, Wool and silk (handmade carpet), 130x100x1 cm
Sepideh Farzam, Absence or Presence, 2012, Wool and silk (handmade carpet), 120x120x1 cm