The installations of Shirin Abedinirad
Iranian artist Shirin Abedinirad creates installations that connect different moments and eras, bringing the ancient past in the cultural and social contexts of today. In her works, natural landscapes and architectural structures often unite, generating impossible or seemingly contrasting intersections – the earth and the sky, nature and the city. This temporary coexistence is a result of eliminating the physical limits between the chosen elements through the reflection power of mirrors.
The mirrors have an interesting role depending on the installation. They amplify light and sometimes show the intangible, adding a spiritual meaning to the work, but at the same time create an optical illusion, a mirage, challenging the perception of the audience regarding what is experienced. The artist suggests that in the reflection lies not only the ongoing transformative process defining the environment, but also our own as beings going through continuous change. And it is our choice to ultimately separate the illusion from reality and determine our course in life and how we relate to everything that surrounds us.
Babel Tower
Interactive installation in collaboration with Gugo Torelli
October 2015 / Iran / TADAEX2015
The work “recontextualizes the spiritual architecture of the Babel Tower with modern materials, creating a union between ancient history and our present world”, enabling dialogue between man and the environment, which is envisioned here in constant transformation. When installed in a city, the installation reacts with different animation patterns to the audience interaction, and when placed in a natural environment it changes its movements depending on the weather conditions.
Mirrored Ziggurat
August 2015 / Australia, Sydney / Underbelly Arts Festival
Inspired by the pyramidal structure of Ziggurat, a common form of temple in ancient Mesopotamia, aiming to connect the earth and the sky for humans to be nearer to god, the installation also attempts to unite the past with today’s world.
“The Mirrored Ziggurat has seven levels that represent seven heavens. For me, mirrors amplify this paradise, giving light; an important mystical concept in Persian Culture, and a medium creating an optical illusion.”
Heaven on Earth
June 2014 / Treviso, Italy / Fabrica
The artist takes inspiration in the first use of mirrors in architecture in Persepolis, Persia at the Tachara Palace. “The basic geometric shapes and symmetrical composition of the mirrors angling up the cement stairs are borrowed from Islamic art, where symmetry is considered the highest form of beauty.(…) Standing in front of the staircase, the audience is facing a transformative view of themselves, and their notion of how the world is structured.”
Evocation
May 2013 / Isfahan, Iran / Central desert
The land art installation highlights the lack of water in the desert, using mirrors to create the impression of small ponds in the sand.
“By altering our perception of nature and offering us a false narrative, I challenge the relationship between the human mind and the fundamental elements of nature.”
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Images © Shirin Abedinirad
View more on her website, on Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo.