Technical Problem is an exhibition of mixed media drawings by Vancouver-based\, Iranian-born art ist Aileen Bahmanipour that explores cyclical political power and cultural identity.
Bahmanipour’s work draws from Iran’s mythic history such as the story of King Zahak contained in the national epic poem Shahnameh writ ten by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE. Zahak was curs ed by the kiss of the devil with two snakes that grew out of his shoulders. According to the legend\, he began beheading the youth of Iran to feed the ir brains to his snakes. Fearful of being bitten by the snakes\, Zahak sacr ificed the future intellectual life of an entire nation.
The works in the exhibition reference Persian miniature painting\, creating an allegori cal language that shifts between the political reality of Bahmanipour’s hom e country\, narrative construction\, and personal symbolism. She elicits th e contradictions between Iran’s mythic past and relationship to modernity a s a utopic ideal in contrast with the state’s ongoing repressive control of its people. Medical illustrations and cross sections of limbs combined wit h animal and abstract forms mimic the border between the interior and exter ior\, and dissect the past as a reflection of the present. Bahmanipour’s wo rk is both fantastical and meticulous\, expressing a process of transformat ion unfolding and in tension.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publ ication with texts by AHVA professors Jaleh Mansoor and Marina Roy.
M ore about the gallery can be found at the grunt g allery website\, and on their Facebook event page for the exhibition opening.
< h4>Artist BioAileen Bahmanipour received her BFA in Painting at the Tehran University of Art and is currently completing an MFA at the Univers ity of British Columbia. Bahmanipour’s interdisciplinary practice spans fro m installation to painting and video based works\, examining hybrid dialogu es between Western and Eastern perspectives in search of deconstructing cul tural truisms. Bahmanipour has exhibited her work in Canada with the Banff Centre for the Arts\, Gallery 1515\, Hatch Art Gallery\, and Two Rivers Gal lery. Her work was included in the 12th Belgrade International Biennial of Illustration in Serbia (2013)\, and the 4th Painting Biennial of Damonfar\, Iran (2012). She is a recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Rese arch Council Scholarship\, 2017.
Image: Aileen Bahmanipou r\, Sucking My Tears (detail)\, 2014.
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