ART-PREVIEW:Parastou Forouhar-Written Room
The politically motivated murder of her parents left a deep mark on Parastou Forouhar’s work. Her parents were both leading opposition politicians in Teheran and in November 1988 were found dead on having been stabbed repeatedly in their home. In her conceptual works, the Iranian artist addresses the fraught relationship between a repressive system and the human desire for freedom.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pi Artworks Archive
Pi Artworks London has commissioned Parastou Forouhar to create a new version of “Written Room” (1999- ). The art of calligraphy has a long history in Iran. Predominantly associated with the writing and communication of the Qur’an, it has been explored as a space of aesthetic exploration for many centuries. Over the course of three days, the artist will ink the gallery’s white walls and floor with black script in Farsi. The disjointed text meanders around the space’s uneven surfaces with no stable vertical or horizontal axis. Its legibility is further undermined by a collection of Ping-Pong balls, also inscribed with Persian script, that have been released onto the floor. The project states: “The writing is also strange, if not alien, because it is illegible for Western visitors – as an ‘incomprehensible’ text it becomes a pure ornament. In defying attempts by Western visitors to assign it meaning, the script remains locked into its irreducible pictorial graphicness and indissoluble representation”. The art of calligraphy has a long history in Iran. Predominantly associated with the writing and communication of the Qur’an, it has been explored as a space of aesthetic exploration for many centuries. Forouhar is interested in reclaiming calligraphy from its religious role by engaging with its visual eloquence and later traditions. The melodic calligraphy that Forouhar applies across each surface complements the bare finish of each interior, resulting in an elegant display. Despite being decipherable text by those who can read Farsi, the script is foreign to the Western culture the artist herself has assimilated into.
Info: Pi Artworks London, 55 Eastcastle Street, London, Duration: 15-30/7/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat 11:00-18:00, www.piartworks.com
