A Review of Kazhal Fakhri's "Indefinite Tokens"

Original text in Farsi by Sale Sharifi

Translated to English by Soheila Habibi

A show by Kazhal Fakhri entitled "Indefinite Tokens" was held at Soo Contemporary from December 3 to 20, 2021. Fakhri has been creating her works for many years with a focus on design and printmaking and she has technically gained amazing achievements, especially in etching, which we see in this show. In "Indefinite Tokens"  Kazhal Fakhri, addresses decadence and changes resulting from the passage of time. She believes that the decadence is more clear in a living figure and considers the flower as a familiar symbol of this variability. Flowers that become withered and fade away before our eyes, are in fact ourselves who are relentless against the passage of time.

This collection is divided into three main parts; prints, sketches, and collages. In addition, a sketch notebook and two copper plates are presented, which we will cover in detail.

Prints:

One of the features of this show is the installation of the works, for the works are not divided according to their techniques and are seen beside each other. In fact, we encounter both a serious and an experimental collection in this show.

Most of Kazhal Fakhri's works are her prints and all prints are different techniques of chalcography. She has used photography in her prints and united the final works and the semantic content of the collection with intentional changes in photographs. At the center of the biggest wall of the Soo Contemporary, we can see an amazing installation of 75 prints. They are flowers in different gray shades and effective forms; flowers subjected to extinction which watching them in a huge installation and beside each other is an unforgettable experience.

There are other prints all over the gallery prints in red and bluish-gray tones. Flowers that are depicted collectively in four works and alone in others. Kazhal Fakhri addressed especially Gladiolus. Gladiolus is a common flower in our visual culture and has always been present in our ceremonies and gatherings. Gladiolus is spontaneously reminiscent of homage and respect.

Sketches:

Kazhal Fakhri is a skilled sketcher. She has presented 11 sketches in this collection; which are tiny, subtle, and sensitive. Like the whole collection, all of the sketches'  subjects are flowers. She uses color in some of her sketches to make them more expressive. Some pencil sketches show her power in this part as well. Works that have been drawn very directly and honestly for the medium. Sketches with western principles of naturalism which, like her prints, follow the show content.

Collages:

Watching an artist's experimental approach is one of the fascinations of today's art. Kazhal Fakhri's collages expose her experiences to us. Basically, she puts the medium at the service of the idea and does not abandon working until the idea completes. Her collages'  characteristics are like sketches and they reinforce the final screw of the time and decay idea. Pink, red and purple shades which are similar to the body, the flesh, and the human being at the end, link the flower to the human being to remind imposed changes on us due to time.

The notebook:

A notebook and two copper plates are presented on the table at the corner of the gallery; the table is a kind of invitation to the artist's studio. The notebook includes a collection of Kazhal Fakhri's sketches and collages in the path of "Indefinite Tokens"; a path reflecting the artist's search and concern. We can see the variety of tools and the artist's encounter with flowers, therefore we find out that the collection is the result of the artist's brainstorming and endeavor.

"Indefinite Tokens"  is a comprehensive collection full of details in which Fakhri's flowers keep reminding us of the passage of time and the end at the border of annihilation and life.