katayoun https://katayoun.com Tue, 18 Mar 2025 17:19:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 From A to Be https://katayoun.com/from-a-to-be/ Tue, 18 Mar 2025 04:52:33 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=5063

From A to Be

This Side | water | That Side, 2023

Durational site-specific installation with porcelain slip at NE Sculpture Factory
*Installation length varies and corresponds to the architectural elements of the exhibition space

This Side | water | That Side is a visual translation of an idiomatic expression that speaks to the complex and often antagonistic relationship of home and diaspora populations divided by a body of water.

Using drywall stencils, the first two letters of the Farsi (Persian) alphabet are poured in porcelain slip directly onto the floors of the gallery. They follow the aesthetic rules of Nastaliq calligraphy where the ideal length of characters is prescribed by the shape and number of rectangular periods. 

The two letters A and B together create the word “Aab” water, as in a river bisecting the space into two arbitrary sides. This side and that side. Here language and water (river) become border and barrier, eroded then erased through the passage of time and transgressive crossings. Gallery visitors choose to stay on one side or the other, jump over the river, or walk through the threshold of the divisions of place, time and language, carrying the residue of river soil on their soles. 

This Side | water | That Side, 2018

Durational site-specific installation with porcelain slip at Regis Center for Art 
approx. 1′-6″ x 28′ x 0.75″

The word ‘water’ is written in porcelain slip in Farsi and thus language and water (river) become border and barrier, eroded then erased through passage of time and transgressional crossings.

Border Crossings, 2018

Durational site-specific installation with porcelain slip on Wshington Bridge (UMN West Bank/East Bank Bridge)
]]> Poems https://katayoun.com/poems/ Tue, 18 Mar 2025 02:33:44 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=5033

Poems

Collectively titled Diaries of a Village Potter, the following video is part of four visual poems that are linked one to the other as introspective meditations about a world on the brink. Simply spoken, they are the reflections of a village potter, the storyteller.

This work uses selected footage from The Names We Change interview recordings and expands and grounds the question of “what’s your name?” in today’s political climate.

One of the concerns I always carry in my practice is the efficacy of the work to reach the public and affect the dialogue and engaged awareness that I seek with the world at large. Currently it is even more so. The question raised now is the sufficiency of what I do as an exhibiting artist, and indeed what it means to “exhibit” in today’s world.

My approach to answering this was to review recent and current work as a trove to be mined and reshaped to gather the stories I wish to tell into a format of exchange that is lighter, more nimble and versatile while still carrying the core messages of my work.

I’m looking for alternative ways of creating affective experiences with the audience without relying on physical presence and manipulation of space. To that end I’m experimenting with the manipulation of different media in order to create new short videos with poetic voice-over narratives as a digital method of distribution.

S/WORD, 2021
HD Video | 10:14
Live-streamed Artist Talk at the College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University

Letter to Baba, 2020
HD Video | 09:09
Iran Sanctions: War in Another Name Panel Talk at the Weisman Art Museum

The Village Potter, 2020
HD Video | 07:28
Politically Engaged Art Amid Multiple Pandemics Webinar at the University of Minnesota

This work uses selected footage from The Names We Change interview recordings and expands and grounds the question of “what’s your name?” in today’s political climate.

The Village Potter Reprise (Eggplant), 2021
HD Video | 06:23
On the Spot with Katayoun Amjadi Virtual Studio Visit with The Brooklyn Rail on Instagram

]]> iObject https://katayoun.com/iobject/ Thu, 19 Sep 2024 20:38:55 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=4011

iObject

The work presented in the So Far, So Close exhibition collectively titled, iObject, is from The Things We Bring series.

iObject consists of four panels of silkscreen prints, flanked by two wall pieces. In front and to the side of this iteration of the work, are several displays of ceramic pieces and collected artifacts.

As a series The Things We Bring explores how the objects we keep when moving as an immigrant or while living in diaspora are signifiers of culture, ethnicity and history; they become touchstones to our past, of places we no longer inhabit yet want to keep close. Objects we choose with care are the culture bearers, the story tellers. They keep one’s history vibrantly present, while being foundational for the conception of a new life in a new, and often challenging, world.

As part of this series, I’m presenting one visual story of two souvenirs that I brought with me to Minneapolis from Tehran and Jerusalem.

There’s a sense of pride in the word “national”, national heritage, national dish, national flower, etc. In iObject, two seemingly insignificant nationals are the subject of my study: Two ordinary cigarette packs picked up from newsstands in Tehran and Jerusalem.

Tobacco, like any commodity, is layered with associations, meaning and history. Originally native to the Americas and introduced to the old-world through European colonialism, it is now part of a global economy and all that comes with production at that scale. However, the aspect of tobacco that interests me currently is the intersection of brand identity, national identity, and nostalgia, infused with a little irony.

iObject, 2024
installation size varies
part of So Far, So Close exhibition by Katayoun Amjadi, Shirin Goraishi, Ziba Rajabi
Q.arma Building | Q.Underground Gallery | Sept 6-26, 2024
**Download exhibition text in PDF**

Historical Objects
iObject series, 2024
plexiglass, packages of Alia (Jerusalem Cigarette Co.), Bahman (Iran Tobacco Co.)
7 x 7 x 3 ½ in.

Alia is the national cigarette of Palestine, but ironically is sold and is popular in Israel. It is a Palestinian product that has been appropriated by the Israeli population, yet carries the colors of the flag of Palestine. In Arabic Alia means “exalted” or excellent/exceptional. In Hebrew Aliyah is seen as the act of rising, as in ascending to Jerusalem. In modern history, as one of the most basic tenets of Zionism, Aliyah has come to mean the return of the Jews of any nationality to Israel, a “birthright” to gain citizenship in Israel. Alia has the sense of disbursement across multiple countries and cultures, some in direct conflict of contested land.

Bahman is the national cigarette of Iran. In Farsi Bahman means “snow avalanche”, and is also the eleventh month in the Persian calendar, the month of February in the Gregorian calendar. Bahman is the month of the 1979 revolution, toppling Iran’s historical monarchy and replacing it with the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran. In a sense Bahman of 1979 is considered the origin of the Iranian diaspora, as many Iranians migrated to other nations at this time. So at the same time Bahman is the product of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it references the revolution and the consequent dispersal of Iranians into a state of diaspora, and has embedded in it a sense of nostalgia for pre-revolutionary Iran.

Slow Kills – Aliyah & Bahman
iObject series, 2024
CMYK silkscreen print on paper
25 5/8 x 19 5/8 in. each

iObject presents two national flowers along with the cigarette artifacts. Both flowers gather the sense of nationalism and nostalgia, yet each are appropriated by opposite sides of the same conflict.

The tulip has long been a symbol of love, belief and passion, and in Iranian culture it represents the advent of spring as well as the symbol of martyrdom. The tulip’s symbolism in Persian mythology can be traced back to the love story of Shirin & Farhad in sixth-century Iran. The commoner Farhad loved the Princess Shirin, but had nothing to offer but his pure heart. Given a challenge by the king, who abhorred the thought of his daughter marrying someone beneath her noble birth, Farhad labored moving mountains to win Shirin’s love. When it was clear he would complete his task, he was deceived with false news of her death, and threw himself from the cliffs in anguish. According to the legend, scarlet red tulips grew from the land where Farhad’s blood fell.

The central motif of the contemporary Iranian flag depicts four petals of the tulip, combined with a sword representing the five pillars of Islam. Ironically the tulip has more recently been associated with resistance against the current Iranian regime, the same regime that, since 1979, has employed tulip imagery in its own propaganda art. The mythology of the tulip and its appropriation across time, even just within Persian culture, has meant that what it signifies shifts with each iteration from love, to the arrival of spring, from rebirth to the blood of a lover, or the blood of soldiers and innocent civilian martyrs.

The poppy is associated with the grain goddess Demeter, and with its narcotic properties inducing painlessness, slumber or death. The poppy has journeyed across time, history and place as a symbol of the fragility of life, resilience in survival, yet also as the blood of Christ. More recently as a remembrance of those lost in war. In particular it is deeply connected with the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Belgium in World War I. The poppy is also the national flower of Palestine and is associated with a connection to the land, and the bloodshed endured through the Israeli occupation.

Under Boots
iObject series, 2024
earthenware ceramics, iron decal
approx. 14 x 3 x 3 in. each

Bahman Tulipier
iObject series, 2024
earthenware ceramics, gold luster
12 x 7 ½ x 3 ¼ in.
]]> Last Thing I Saw https://katayoun.com/last-thing/ Sat, 24 Feb 2024 20:22:28 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=3788

The Last Thing I Saw

A screen of 504 eye patches sewn together with black thread bisects the gallery wall into two sections. On each side of the curtain, part of a sentence is readable. The words are translated in English on the left, and in the original Persian (Farsi) on the right. The black screen of eye patches partially obscures the rest of the text underneath, while at the same time reveals blurred images of Iranians shot in the eye during the protests of the last year.

One of the many Iranians wounded in the last year, was a young law student from southern city of Bandar Abbas, Iran: Ghazal Ranjkesh. Ghazal was a 21 year old protestor, shot in the right eye on 20 September 2022. Her story is one of many hundreds about protestors that have been wounded in this manner. The common perception is that targeting the eyes, breasts and buttocks of female protestors in particular, is intentional. The eyes are central to the idea of beauty in Iran, and have a mythical status in Persian culture. To target them is to strike at the core of femininity, to mutilate the essence of womanhood.

Since mid-September 2022, in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in Iran, over 500 people have been killed, 7 have been publicly executed, and over 20,000 have been detained. Countless others have been wounded. Among the most egregious wounds, are on those that are deliberately shot in the face with riot control weapons. Hundreds of victims have suffered severe eye injuries inflicted by metal pellets and rubber bullets of Iranian security forces’ brutal crackdown of protests. Ghazal was one of them. She survived the attack and was able to post to her Instagram feed what she had witnessed before her eye went black. She notes:

“…the last image my right eye captured was the smile of the person who was shooting at me…”

The Last Thing I Saw, 2023
Rage. Remember. Renew. Seven Memorials to Victims of Gun Violence at Form + Content Gallery
medical eye patches, thread, paper roll, vinyl wall text
approx.140 x 28 in. (blind) 10’ x 9’ x 8” (installation)

An observation as acute as it is disturbing, it belies the hatred, even sadistic pleasure, the shooter had for his victim. The smile indicates a feeling of smug satisfaction of the shooter, that there is power and impunity for the hand that pulls the trigger. In the regime’s suppression of personal freedoms, this power is manifested through surveillance, intimidation, routine beatings, and incarceration, and during the protests, maiming, killing and executing those that choose to expose truth to power.

]]> Early Works https://katayoun.com/early-works/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:49:01 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2891 /*! elementor - v3.17.0 - 08-11-2023 */ .elementor-widget-divider{--divider-border-style:none;--divider-border-width:1px;--divider-color:#0c0d0e;--divider-icon-size:20px;--divider-element-spacing:10px;--divider-pattern-height:24px;--divider-pattern-size:20px;--divider-pattern-url:none;--divider-pattern-repeat:repeat-x}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider{display:flex}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{font-size:15px;line-height:1;max-width:95%}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__element{margin:0 var(--divider-element-spacing);flex-shrink:0}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-icon{font-size:var(--divider-icon-size)}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider-separator{display:flex;margin:0;direction:ltr}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator{align-items:center}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:before{display:block;content:"";border-bottom:0;flex-grow:1;border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:first-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider-separator:before{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider__element{margin-left:0}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:last-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider-separator:after{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider__element{margin-right:0}.elementor-widget-divider:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text):not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon) .elementor-divider-separator{border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern{--divider-border-style:none}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern.elementor-widget-divider--view-line .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not([class*=elementor-widget-divider--view]) .elementor-divider-separator{width:100%;min-height:var(--divider-pattern-height);-webkit-mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;-webkit-mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);background-color:var(--divider-color);-webkit-mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url);mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url)}.elementor-widget-divider--no-spacing{--divider-pattern-size:auto}.elementor-widget-divider--bg-round{--divider-pattern-repeat:round}.rtl .elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{direction:rtl}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-divider,.e-con>.elementor-widget-divider{width:var(--container-widget-width,100%);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow)}

Early Works

 

Balance Me Out, 2012-2013



























































Silk Road, 2013














Triple Containers, 2012


































Mandala: Symbol of Existence, 2011






















]]> Pinglish Thoughts https://katayoun.com/pinglish-thoughts/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:57:05 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2833

Pinglish Thoughts

 

Oo & I, 2014

Jaam-e-Jam, 2014

The Lion & Sun, 2014

Mirror & Window, 2014

]]> Why Don’t You Smile Bozi https://katayoun.com/why-dont-you-smile-bozi/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:14:39 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2761

Why Don’t You Smile Bozi?

Why don’t you smile Bozi? آخه بزی چرا نمی خندی؟ was inspired by the stylized design of a Persian ibex (a mountain goat) motif that I have borrowed from a six thousand year old Iranian ceramic beaker. In the Persian language “bozi” means little goat, and the title of the work refers to a humorous folk song that was meant to spread holiday cheer and put a momentary smile on the frozen faces of people. I use “bozi” as a symbol of a glorified past evoking the Persian Empire, Persian Garden, Persian carpet, Persian cat, etc. juxtaposed with the miniature gold-leaf oil barrel that evokes “axis of evil”, Persian Gulf Wars, sanctions, nuclear programs, Geneva talks, and simply put, Oil politics. I’m fascinated with oil politics and the major role it plays in the world’s delicate political balance. My generation came of age in the aftermath of Iran’s 1979 Revolution and the subsequent eight years of devastating war with Iraq. With many Iranians choosing life in diaspora, I often wonder how different history would be if oil had never been discovered in the region.

From Right to Left, 2015

Bozi III, 2015

Bozi II, 2015

Bozi I, 2015

Bozi Replicas, 2013-2014

]]> Different Same https://katayoun.com/different-same/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:11:37 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2747

Different Same

Different Same is an ongoing video project that strives to find common ground in the most trivial everyday life incidents that surpass ethnicity, gender and age gap.

Eating Sunflower Seeds, 2015

Opening a Pomegranate, 2015

]]> This is Not a Pomegranate https://katayoun.com/this-is-not-a-pomegranate/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:26:56 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2615

This is Not a Pomegranate

Native to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions, pomegranate has been held sacred by many of the world’s major religions, legends and mythologies. The robust round shape of a pomegranate with its blood colored flesh bursting open with numerous seeds are emblematic of feminine body, the female source of nature and thus continuity of life. This is Not a Pomegranate series consists of ceramic installations and performances which walk the line between fine art and mainstream aesthetics. In this series, I embrace the motif of a pomegranate with both its past and present prominence. The past portrayals with symbolic meanings such as life, resurrection, love and abundance, and the present significance as pervasive decorative goods of the Middle Eastern cultures.

Dolorous Interlude, 2015

Sarah has a Pomegranate, 2015

Blue Truck, 2014

]]> Exileware https://katayoun.com/exileware/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 07:33:06 +0000 https://katayoun.com/?p=2477

Exileware

From cultural displacement to dinnerware placement, Exileware: Persian Diaspora & Pottery in Minnesota focuses on the impact of transnational migration on individual and collective experiences of everyday life. Exileware is a body of ceramic ware exploring the dynamics of a hybrid cultural identity that revolves around social rituals and traditions surrounding ceremonial events, food, and hence ceramics vessels.

Exileware, 2015

Haute Tea, 2014

BlameParty, 2012

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