Statement: 

The idea for this exhibition started with the Art, Borders and Belonging: On Home and Migration book by Maria Photiou and Marsha Meskimmon which investigates how three concepts Home, Borders and Identity are globally represented in the contemporary art. The number of migrating Iranian artists is growing in the recent years; some seek job opportunities; some for cultural interests and experience; some forced to migrate. Crossing group show explores such migratory experiences in the form of artworks generated and displayed through the lens of several Iranian contemporary artists. The exhibition runs through the style perspective of an array of media, including oil paintings, drawing, physical sculptures and photography. Each artist explores this diverse theme within their own interpretation whether it be a direct representing of the concept of identity and belonging or addressing the migration in a very indirect way.///

The majority of participating artists have been raised and lived in Iran until just recently prior to their migration; on the other hand there are a few that have never been in Iran with knowledge acquired through media and their relative experiences, mainly their parents. Moreover, two artists have been invited who haven’t migrated.This diverse range of contemporary art interacts with the audience, truly allowing them to create their own perspective and interpretation of the theme.

Maliheh Zafarnezhad

"Crossing"explores migratory experiences in artworks generated and displayed through the lens of 14 Iranian contemporary artists. The majority of invited artists have been raised and lived in Iran until just recently before migration; on the other hand there are a few that has never been in Iran with knowledge acquired through media and their relative experiences, mainly their parents. Moreover, two artists have been invited who chose to stay in Iran and haven’t migrated for comparison. Here is the list of participants (in alphabetical order), and I’m so pleased to work with these amazing artists for this project: Kazem Armand, Mehdi Dandi, Armaghan Fatemi, Farshido, Mehdi Farhadian, Parham Ghalamdar, Dena Haghsay, Sahar Haghgoo, Cyrus Mahboubian, Nazanin Moradi, Mahsa Merci, Zartosht Rahimi, Sam Tahmassebi and Maliheh Zafarnezhad