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Growing up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, I am the child of contrary forces. On the one hand I have a long heritage of mystics, poetry, miniature painting, turquoise tiles, domes, carpets and courtyards. On the other hand I have had first hand experience of fundamental war, censorship and repression.
The experience of having to cover my body as a young child as if it is a precious treasure that needs to be hidden from the eyes of the evil has resulted in a curious awareness of the sensual body in my art practice. Looking into the idea of the body/mind dualism, I investigate the physical body, the flesh, separated and isolated from the mind. The status of body in my work is represented as two
contrary forces, the precious body and the abject body, only to investigate the body as an intermediary state of being, as a thin borderline between existence and non-existence.
In order to address the boundaries of the body I explore human senses and specially the sense of touch. It is with the help of this sense that we position ourselves and navigate in space and around other bodies. Focusing on pleasures and pains of tactile sensations I challenge the boundaries and limitations of the physical body.
In my work I am not trying to convey a thought but more to express a feeling:
A feeling of the body being contained as well as being exploded;
A feeling of extending our body’s boundaries through physical experiences;
A sensation of breaking out of the skin of the body and at the same time the fear of letting go.
Zoha Zokaei
E:
www.zohazokaei.com
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