Statemenet:

O Gallery presents “Lumen” a group exhibition of the works by Mohammad Abbasi (b. 1987 Karaj), Soodeh Bagheri Tirtash (b. 1982 Ahwaz), Serminaz Barseghian (b. 1987 Tehran), Aylar Dastgiri (b. 1988 Tehran), Abel Hartooni (b. 1998 Tehran), Shahrzad Jahan (b. 1995 Birjand), Raha Khosroshahi (b. 1997 Tehran), Farzad Majidi (b. 1986, Tehran) and Kimia Mirzaei (b. 1998 Tehran) curated by gallery member Dorsa Jalali.

“The experience of living through many historically critical moments, have had a significant impact on dividing our personality as an active generation of the Iranian workforce into multiple versions of ourselves. Confronted with new challenges, we are holding new tools in our hands whilst staying loyal to our old methods. This makes us feel incapable of implementing the necessary changes to improve the general state of our society.In the heart of the tornado that is technological development; we are yesterday’s humans with the tools of tomorrow. ///

We celebrate the experience and knowledge of the old and are unable to see the potential of the so-called Gen Z, to give them credit for the way they acquire new information and work with new technology; hence the angst in the spirit of the subversive youth.To understand where the problem lies, we need to look into the definition of the tools we use every day. If we are to consider the physical space as an extension of the body, we could argue that the media or more specifically, social media could be considered as an extension of the collective consciousness. The screen is an extension of the eye and the eye is a part of the brain itself. The media touches us every day and shapes our lived experiences throughout the entirety of our waking hours. To some extent, the human sensorium is under development to perceive what we confront in the “virtual” world as opposed to the “real” world, in ways that are still unknown to us.The group exhibition “Lumen” reflects on the relevance of physical space in projecting the experience of the digital world and its role in navigating the complex realities of the present. The collection on view is an endeavour to translate images and experiences with digital properties to fit into the old and classic descriptions of brick-and-mortar art gallery exhibitions.”

Dorsa Jalali