Statement

Limbo is characterized by fluttering shadows, a stagnant cycle of looking and pausing, and a sequestered frame of mind. It is a never-ending cycle of searching and waiting, an imposed state of loneliness and isolated reactions. Our bodies endure limbo and the only way to be liberated is to act in concert. This artwork consists of a paper cutout blocking a light source, which then casts the shadow of two of my poems inspired by last year’s uprising in Iran. The white sheet endures the unbearable weight of the paper pulling down on the edges, yet the shadows cast by the inscription relax the tension, affording the freedom to wander. Shadow has become a medium of curiosity for me since I first visited North America in 2012. I am especially drawn to the ways in which the experience of embodiment can be expressed through shadow. In this work, I was preoccupied as much with the legibility/illegibility of the poems as with encouraging the audience to develop a corporeal connection by making the shadow palpable. The poems navigate the complex emotions of witnessing the exciting and hopeful act of standing and acting together, yet at the same time, feeling anger, guilt, and despair as voyeuristically watching the unfolding of harrowing events and the mutilated bodies of unarmed protestors from a safe distance.

Transcript

Limbo is a state of being

Where nothing is certain or clear

A place of suspension and waiting

Between two worlds that might be near

But not quite within reach or sight

A limbo of words and worlds

Where silence and doubt are the norms

And hope is fleeting.