Shadi Harouni follows the absurd and surreal ways in which form and experience are manipulated in politics. The artist’s experience of post-war/revolution Iran (as an Iranian and a Kurdish Jew) and the Islamic Republic’s uncertain relationship to music, fashion, taboos and contrabands has been a starting point for much of her recent work. The artist writes, “I look for the kinds of ingenuity and strategy the individual employs to resist full erasure. I’m interested in this history of resistance formally, emotionally and politically.” (Excerpt and images below selected from grant proposal. All works are copyright of the artist.)
Harpo Foundation is pleased to provide Ms. Harouni with a direct artist grant to assist her production and development of new work.
“The Burial,” 2013, Single channel video, ORT: 4:55 looped, dimensions variable “Crowd, June 4th, 1989” (detail), 2010, photo-transfer on sanded drywall, 8 x 8 x 1 feet “Things” (detail, white sneakers), 2011-14. Shoes, hydrocal, wood, joint compound, sheetrock, wall paint, walls, dimensions variable. “The Lightest of Stones and the Heaviest of Men,” 2015, Video, Sound, TRT 15:00 “Crowd, June 4th, 1989,” 2010, photo-transfer on sanded drywall, 8 x 8 x 1 feet “Untitled Carved Floor (Eastern Toilet),” 2011. Carved linoleum on cement, adhesive, 70 x 43 x 2.5 inches.