Mahdyar Jamshidi
I Am Here
February 3–March 1, 2017
Ag Galerie
#3 Pesyan St., Valiasr St.
19869-63111 Tehran
Iran
Curated by Elham Puriya Mehr
Ag Galerie is pleased to present the exhibition I Am Here by Iranian artist Mahdyar Jamshidi. I Am Here is an on-going art project focused around man’s relationship with space and emphasizes greater communication around the concept of “centre” from various viewpoints. The project is comprised of three phases.
The first phase of the project was conducted in 2014 after Jamshidi began researching innovative forms of communication and representation. The seed idea was born by having typed the word “Iran” into Google Earth’s search engine whereby a red balloon marked the centroid of Iran, defining a physical location in the middle of the desert on the outskirts of Ardakan in Yazd province. Jamshidi took it upon himself to physically mark that location on the ground by digging a pit 150 cm deep and 250 cm in diameter. A flat mirror was placed at the bottom of the pit and red neon lighting was installed around its perimeter reflecting the colour into the mirror, the sky and the surrounding atmosphere.
The second phase was a curatorial tour to the location which engaged viewers from a myriad of professional backgrounds—cosmologists, art historians, psychologists—to participate in the project. The main focus of this component was an in-depth conversation and analysis around the concept of the centre, with an emphasis on understanding and communicating from various scientific viewpoints.
In the third phase, documents, video footage and archives of the project will be presented in an exhibition on February 3, 2017 at Ag Galerie. Lectures related to the concept of “centre” and a catalogue surrounding the project will accompany this exhibition. I Am Here exhibition promotes the decentralization of one’s own position and provides a platform for the exchange of information and ideas. It aims to create a thoughtful process of questions and conversations without a definitive and decisive conclusion.
About the artist
Mahdyar Jamshidi (b. 1982, Tehran) is an Iranian artist who received a BA in Photography from Islamic Azad Art and Architecture University; an MMS (Mass Communication and Journalism) degree from San Jose University in Recoletos, Philippines; an MSA (Master of Studio Art) from Sydney University in Australia; and a DBA (Doctoral of Business Administration) from San Jose University in Recoletos, Philippines. Jamshidi uses methodologies of deconstruction, simplification and decoding as a strategy to question enigmas, codes and the vague conditions of life. His works are the result of his critical research in the fields of sociology, anthropology and politics, involving the use of various media such as photography, film and installation.
