Statement:

In collaboration with Zonpass, O Gallery presents “The Finite and the Infinite”, a collection of works by Omid Mehdizadeh (b. 1984 Tehran, Iran).

Shaped around the notion of the “infinite,” the project led the artist to confront the paradox of finitude inherent in all perceptible phenomena. 

Recognizing that visibility itself is within the limits of perception, Mehdizadeh chose the sea as his subject, an emblem of boundlessness. 

In his photographs, the horizon line is placed close to the upper edge of the frame, compressing the image and visually translating this tension by containing the sea’s apparent vastness within a restricted field.///

The photographs were taken over the past three years, followed by a period in which the artist pondered how such a vast subject might express the finite condition of all phenomena. 

Continuing his long-standing practice of disrupting photographic images, Mehdizadeh printed these photographs on calico cloth, a material that allowed greater physical intervention. 

He textured the fabric using serish (an eremurus-based glue) and natural substances such as chamomile and lesser dodder, dyed it with tea and coffee, and then partially tore its surface. 

Through these interactions, the seemingly infinite image of the sea is transformed into a manipulated object which is framed and destabilized.

In contrast, some works are presented without frames, hung at varying heights within the space. 

The pronounced use of ochre pigment and the unconventional placement of the horizon line further unsettle the image. 

This open-ended presentation resists closure and invites the audience to reflect on questions of limitation imposed on what appears infinite.