For its second Karavan Project, SARAI Gallery brings a selection of works by visual artist and winner of the Khor Art Initiative 2020 Mahdieh Abolhasan to the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz.
For its second Karavan Project, SARAI Gallery brings a selection of works by visual artist and winner of the Khor Art Initiative 2020 Mahdieh Abolhasan to the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz. Curated by Sadegh Khalife, "The Placeless Place" is a single-day, alternative-space exhibition where Abolhasan's new installations are going to be displayed at the historic Zargan power plant, where her creations interact both with the power plant's industrial architecture and unique space and its community of workers.
Karavan Projects aim to not only promote a collaborative culture within the art community including art galleries and institutions but also create a wider range of opportunities for art to be seen and appreciated both by art lovers and the general public. In this particular event, the idea has been to introduce art to the working class by defining an installation in the midst of a working environment, thus creating an intervention in the daily routines of the people working there and challenging clichés of 'untouchability' and perpetual elusiveness of art to the public. Mahdieh Abolhasan has been called upon for this project because of the great potential of her drawing-sculptures and installations as creative ambassadors in an industrial setting: born in a studio that isn't unlike a mechanical workshop, these are rather labor-intensive works that beautifully incorporate both sturdy materials and delicate lines, and, just as humanity goes through different stages of life bearing inevitable marks of time and experience, Abolhasan's creations are made of different layers and their 'skins' are covered with lacerations and burn marks. At the end of the day, Mahdieh Abolhasan's works are also fruits of labor; their only difference would be the ultimate purpose they serve: to express, and to create connections via the collective subconscious.
Karavan Projects are a series of collaborative shows and events whereby galleries and various public and semi-public spaces host works by SARAI artists. The "Placeless Place" pop-up exhibition is going to be held on May 11, 2022, and it will be followed by a show of Mahdieh Abolhasan's works at Shavadoon Art Gallery in the ancient city of Shushtar on May 13.
