The Regression II

Statement: 

Farnaz Baghban’s paintings are rooted in narrative, with each canvas telling a new story. 

Through her artistic practice, she photographs children’s playgrounds and reinterprets images discovered during her archival research, creating spaces shaped by her own lived experiences. 

As her practice has evolved, figures of children have entered her apocalyptic landscapes through the concept of regression—a return or retreat. 

Reflected in the title of the series, Regression, this backward movement serves as a metaphor for the reverse workings of the artist’s mind and her departure from the logic of adulthood, giving rise to a subjective world distinct from objective reality. 

In these works, the figure of the child is not merely a nostalgic reference or an expression of futile longing for the past. 

Rather, it becomes a critical device for reexamining reality and questioning the adult world—a world in which individuals are continuously confronted with an overwhelming barrage of news and social crises. 

Baghban’s own habit of following the news during her moments of rest plays a central role in shaping the narrative universe of her paintings. 

By weaving contemporary events and firsthand news reports into a primordial structure, she gives form to the timeless nature of crisis.