Eye and Light (098)

Andersen's is pleased to present Farzankia's third solo exhibition in the gallery, titled "Eye and Light" (چشم و چراغ)
The exhibition features paintings, drawings, and silk prints, several of which are created specifically for this exhibition. The nine paintings on large wooden boards were originally made for Farzankia's solo exhibition at the Willumsens Museum in 2022 but are now presented as individual works in a new historical time, re-contextualizing themselves in relation to the current situation in Iran. Farzankia's works come to life against a rich backdrop of references to both art history and religious and cultural narratives mixed with film, advertising, literature, poetry, and pop-cultural phenomena. One can recognize simplified silhouettes of birds, faces, flame-like forms, and stylized eyes in a universe of partial overpaintings and juxtapositions of images without apparent connection. However, when Bob Dylan is placed alongside an equally iconic female bust and a mummy portrait from Fayyum, underlying visual affinities between the structure and form become evident, and the motifs appear to make sense. In Farzankia's works, the immediate impact cannot be avoided, but upon closer examination, it reveals a deep image stream that formulates questions about the origin of power, visualized memory, as well as the ways in which our personal and collective histories intersect with broader cultural narratives. In relation to this, he uses cultural references, including a film still from the Iranian film "The Deer," which refers directly to the terrorist attack in the former Cinema Rex in Abadan, often referred to as the triggering event leading to the Iranian revolution in 1979, giving the work a new meaning and relevance seen through the eyes of today. Farzankia's works all radiate poetic power, filled with motifs, figures, and artistic idioms that evoke larger narratives about collective memory, power structures, philosophy, religion, freedom, and movement.