Oct 31 – Nov 24, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, Nov 2, 2pm – 4pm
In the Main Gallery
MEHRAN MODARRES-SADEGHI | Safar (A Journey)
Artist Talk: Saturday, Nov 9, 2pm – 3pm
Mehran Modarres-Sadeghi’s exhibition Safar (A Journey) in the Main Gallery explores Iranian identity in a globalized world through four separate but linked series of work. Ma Miaeem va Miravim (We Come and Go) features drawings inspired by the Dick and Jane series in which Persian words are written using the Roman alphabet, investigating the socio-cultural implications of hybridity as they relate to interethnic exchange and the globalizing process of travel and translation. Thread, a series of sculptures using traditional and contemporary objects wrapped in black string, considers notions of collective memory and Western influences on Iranian cultural traditions. Mark making and abstraction are explored with reference to Persian Calligraphy, art, and architecture in the series of drawings called Lost; and in the series Lost Gardens scroll drawings demonstrate the artist’s journey of reconnecting with her homeland’s plants and cultural traditions through the lens of British Columbia’s wild native plants. Modarres-Sadeghi’s works are autoethnographic, reflecting her lived experiences in Iran and Canada.
Mehran Modarres-Sadeghi is an Iranian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, BC. Originally from Isfahan, Iran, she immigrated to Canada in the 1990s, where she received an MFA in Visual Arts from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2017), a BFA (2007) from the University of British Columbia. She also holds a BSc in Physics from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran. Her current practice mainly engages with drawing and textile sculpture, although she has worked in various media such as photography, painting, and installation. Through her work she investigates the socio-cultural implications of hybridity as they relate to interethnic exchange and the globalizing process of travel and translation. Modarres-Sadeghi respectfully acknowledges that she lives and works on the traditional unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations known as Vancouver, BC.
Check out our YouTube channel for a video of this exhibition.