What do you see?
Cardboard and watercolor on paper 40*52 cm
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
I am currently interested in looking at the same story from different perspectives in my artworks. At this step I first painted a self-portrait of myself wearing my UAL cardholder, a big part of my life these days. I was deprived of education in Iran because of my beliefs, and now is the first time in my life I have had the chance to study in a university that has a building and openly be a student. In this self-portrait, I express how I see myself in the present, yet the past is always behind me like a ghost.
In the artwork “What Do You See?” I am recreating the same narrative as in my self-portrait. To make this artwork, I painted each small piece on paper with watercolour and handmade Persian calligraphy ink, cut them and glued them on top of each other.
In the artwork "What Do You See?" multiple layers show the complexity of this experience for me. The pieces of this artwork are small and have details, so the viewer needs to explore and find new meanings. Just like what I did with the exploration I did in myself for creating this work. The title also points out the importance of the perspective we are looking at and the information we get.
 Painting the pieces with ink and watercolour |  Cutting the paintings out likes pieces of a puzzle |
|---|---|
 Gluing cardboard pieced to the back of each painting to give images more depth |  A finished pieced, ready to be glued to the other pieces |
The process and details of painting "Self-portrait at UAL"
Self-portrait at UAL
Charcoal and oil on board 45*45 cm
Self-referencing plays a significant role in the artworks "Self-portrait at UAL" and "What Do You See?". I am retelling the story of the bus, the sofa, myself and studying at UAL. In these works, each of these items references something in my past or present. The box gives a theatrical approach to "What Do You See?" and somehow isolates it, like a glimpse into a point of view.