Transition of Tradition
Transition of Tradition involves an exploration into the constant evolving nature of traditions and its transformative effect on those who practice it.The subject of the traditions in question, are particular to Eastern and Persian origins and therefore invoke the use of imagery from these regions. Both artists’ works are an inquiry into the symbolic nature of the tangible and intangible traditions that they are familiar with, as well as the performative aspect which surround these two elements.
April 2018
Ready-made ruins
Chalk powder Installation Collaborative work Anushka Rustamji and Marjan Baniasadi "Ready-made Ruin" chalk powder 5 x 7 ft 2018 "Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography. That struggle is complex and interesting because it is not only about soldiers and cannons but also about ideas, about forms, about images and Imaginings" Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism) (1993) "Ready-made Ruin" hints at a constellation of thoughts, inquiries and responses which consider art historical precedents, questions of context, and institutional framing, as well as the modes of production and reception around traditional cultural practices. The installation seeks to question colonial narratives of land and what land and materiality offers to history. The images present in the installation, are reminiscent of ancient sculptures and monuments that were once present in the region of Mesopotamia. The chalk carpet however, depicts notions of contingency and fragility, all of which are incompatible with the monumentality that for centuries was synonymous with the sculptures and reliefs that were constructed in this region –primarily ancient Persia and Iraq. Thus the installation also serves as an active critique of the colonial method of the physical relocation of ancient artefacts and monuments from the 'East' to the 'West' and the effect that this transportation and 'uprooting' has in relation with the idea of the appearance and disappearance of the image. The work however, is not just a negotiation between time and timelessness or the vacillations of nostalgia; it uncovers the way diasporic relations offer a friction to and with the materiality of land itself. The use of powdered chalk - suggestive of ash - is an extremely unsettled material, implying that this is not an installation that can be made in another location and then transported to the gallery. The work is made on site and for it to be moved would mean for it to be re-made. The piece is composed in relation to the space of its setting and no matter how well planned the installation is, there is a degree of improvisation and hence, a perfomative aspect to it. The idea of a 'carpet' (an important and common object which is symbolic in Iranian households) and the act of using the metal chalk trays to execute it (which are used by Parsis on celebratory occasions) are both elements which are evocative of a strong traditional craft sensibility. The objects of the carpet and the metal chalk tray, when subtracted from consumer culture, become material reminders of tradition. Both have one common element; a search for continuity through the act of repetition. (Anushka Rustomji and Marjan Baniasadi)
Threads of tranquility
Oil on Canvas 182 by 31 cm 2018
Ready-made ruins process
