Abbas Akhavan
dal 7/10/2012 al 19/11/2012
Segnalato da
7/10/2012
Abbas Akhavan
Delfina Foundation, London
Study for a Garden. During a 10-week residency Akhavan has produced a series of installations in response to the Foundation's adjacent property at 31 Catherine Place. The project explores the intrusion of nature into a house where familiar spaces have gradually been taken over by foreign elements.
Delfina Foundation is delighted to present Study for a Garden,
the first UK solo exhibition by Toronto-based Iranian artist
Abbas Akhavan. During a 10-week residency at Delfina
Foundation, Akhavan has produced a series of installations in
response to the Foundation’s adjacent property at 31 Catherine
Place. The exhibition will offer visitors a unique opportunity
to preview the un-renovated period building which the
Foundation will expand into in Autumn 2013. Study for a Garden
also marks the last exhibition at the Foundation before it
closes for renovation in January 2013.
Folding the border between the garden and
domestic space, Study for a Garden explores the
intrusion of nature into a house where familiar
spaces have gradually been taken over by
foreign elements. The invasion of water and
vegetation into various rooms of the house is a
continuation of Akhavan’s research into the
relationship between foreign and familiar,
hospitable and hostile, domestic and wild. From
the front door to the upstairs bedroom and back
to the basement, the installations comprising
invasive plants species and hedges govern the
audience’s movements, rendering them at times
as guests and at times trespassers. In one
instance, visitors encounter an oscillating
water sprinkler, keeping them at bay with its
sprays of water; in another, the original
floral carpet from the house creates the illusion of sprouting
with natural ivy. These territorial gardens address the
naturalisation of barriers, where every garden is a guarded
space, an enclosure, a compound. Water, vegetation and
gardening tools create discriminatory spaces, keeping some
species alive and others dead.
Akhavan’s practice ranges from site-specific ephemeral
installations to drawing, video and performance. For the past
five years, the domestic sphere has been an on-going research
in his work. Much of the early works explore the relationship
between the house and nation state and how the trauma and
systemic violence enacted upon civilians can be inherited and
re-enacted within the family lineage – the home becoming a
forked space between hospitality and hostility. More recent
works have shifted focus onto spaces just outside the home –
the garden, the backyard, and other domesticated landscapes.
The residency and exhibition are in partnership with
Canada House Arts Trust and Iran Heritage Foundation. The
Private View is hosted in association with The Third Line
Dubai, UAE.
Abbas Akhavan’s work has been exhibited in spaces including
Vancouver Art Gallery, the Power Plant, Darling Foundry
(Canada), ABC Art Berlin Contemporary, KW Institute for
Contemporary Art (Germany), Kunsten Museum of Modern Art
(Denmark), Le Printemps de septembre a Toulouse (France),
Bucharest Biennale (Romania) and Performa 11 (USA). Recent and
upcoming residencies include Fundation Marcelino Botin
(Spain), Axeno7, Video In, TSV, and Fogo Islands (Canada),
Watermill Centre (USA), and The Delfina Foundation (Dubai,
UAE). Akhavan was the recipient of Kunstpreis Berlin, 2012.
Akhavan took part in Delfina Foundation’s satellite
residency programme in Dubai in Spring 2011, which was in
partnership with The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Art
Dubai and Tashkeel. Along with four other artists, Akhavan was
in residence for two months producing new work which was
showcased in conjunction with Art Dubai, the pinnacle of the
Middle East’s cultural calendar. The programme’s aim was to
shed light on emerging and mid-career talents.
Abbas Akhavan is represented by The Third Line Dubai, UAE
Delfina Foundation is an independent, non-profit foundation
dedicated to facilitating artistic exchange and developing
creative practice through residencies, partnerships and public
programming, with a special focus on international
collaborations with the greater Middle East & North Africa.
Image: Study for a Garden (2012), courtesy of the artist.
Artist talk:
Thurs 25/10 19:00 – 20:30 Abbas Akhavan in conversation with
Mark Rappolt (Art Review) at Delfina Foundation
Press contact:
Miranda Sharp, miranda@delfinafoundation.com +44(0)2072335344
Ana Vukadin, ana@suttonpr.com +44(0)2071833577
Private View: Monday 8/10 15:00—19:00
Delfina Foundation
31 Catherine Place, London SW1E 6DY
Opening times: Mon—Sat, 12:00—18:00