The past is always with us
The old-style entrance doors in her works, with their beautiful bolt-and-hammer knockers, take us back to the traditional houses rarely seen in the capital. Yazd and Kashan are still home to these kinds of doors, one knocker for men to use, one for women, designed this way to inform the residents if a man or a woman is at the door. The Tehran Times conducted an interview with Ghiasvand on Monday, asking about her work and her inspiration. Following is the text of her answers:
The name “Image of Silver” is derived from the plates of silver used along with the paintings in this series of works.
I am interested in the color silver and silver plates. My style of work is engraving the silver plate I pick for the work. I first draw my design on the silver plate with a pencil and later lightly engrave it with the help of any sharp item. I later add the paints and colors. Silver hardly accepts paint and color, which forces me to repeat it (painting) several times.
The arabesque designs are very delicate and if anything goes wrong while I am etching the plate, I leave it, and make use of paint and colors while I am making the work to make it seem antique.
The theme of the exhibition mostly focuses on the details of old doors adorned with Iranian items such as bolts, bosses, and hammers. The works remind us of our past, history, and traditions. The works are painted in the realism style of painting, slightly merged with the feeling of surrealism.
The notes written on the doors, the numbers, and the items installed on the doors were what interested me in the doors and made me put them on canvas. When one looks at the old doors now, one easily gets the feeling of the past.
There surely must be a reason for the root and history of the numbers written on the doors in the past, of which I am unaware. But I tried to replace them with other things such as pieces of calligraphy works.
I was interested in calligraphy and have done all the works myself. I tried to replace the numbers and notes with calligraphy and illumination works. The calligraphy works mostly are the Arabic bismillah (“In the name of Allah”, from the Quran) on the doors. Of course, I must mention that the bismillahs were not installed on the surfaces of the doors, but above the doors. The reason why I put them on the doors was that I have made the works surreal.
Doors are part of my works. The “saqqakhaneh” (public drinking place) is the other subject I like to put on canvas, since I am personally interested in it. I first took photos of the saqqakhanehs and combined them with things I liked, such as locks. The saqqakhaneh is a sign of the traditional people’s beliefs and reveals the old feelings of religious places.
Still life and gardens are the main themes I like. The narcissus and the pomegranate are the two symbols I repeat in my works as the old flowers used in many old houses and the pomegranate, which recalls love with its delicate inner side.
I believe every nation must learn to maintain their cultural heritage any way they can. I first painted the indoors, the rooms, the windows, the flower vases, and now I focus on the outdoors. I like to keep the old styles of living alive and help people remember the past.
On following the principles of painting, I must say that I usually work based on my feelings and I am not bound to all the principles. Of course, following the rules is necessary and I do, but sometimes the feeling overcomes the rules.
The media I use, I must say I like to make use of gouache, oil color, and silver the most. Making use of arabesques is also my favorite. I have been working on paintings for almost eight years. Of course, I had studied French language translation at university, but painting was what I preferred the best.
Some friends usually ask why I don’t do the silver works in small sizes or on dishes. I have not worked on dishes, since I believe it is not my type of work, but in small sizes, yes I did. I first began in small sizes and later I worked on large sizes. Other friends usually ask how the idea came to my mind to work on silver and I must say I really like silver. Once I bought a small piece of silver and it (this work) continued until now.
My idea is to take the job easy and be relaxed during the work. I don’t like too many details. The colors show old colors like green, turquoise, azure, and a kind of red which is specifically an Iranian type of color. I believe color can easily convey the feelings of each person, and the feelings which can not be expressed can be conveyed through colors.
I have participated in seventeen group exhibitions over the past six years, but this is my first solo exhibition, which includes the series I have done over the years. This exhibition has been warmly welcomed. And I am thinking about seriously continuing the silver works.
The works are chosen not necessarily from a special model; some of them are created in my mind. The knockers are ones which I have at home or have purchased from the market or sometimes from photos I have.
Sometimes I am not satisfied with one of my paintings, and just leave it for later. That is, I am not always happy with all the works I create, but after a while I return to the same work and try to put an end to it and make it the way I like.
I believe we don’t know the future, and don’t understand the present, but the past is with us. The past in our Iranian culture and history takes us to a special time and place in the past. I want each one of my works to convey Iranian and Islamic sentiments to visitors.
The exhibition runs until Thursday at the gallery, which is located on 4th Alley, Vozara St.