An Exhibition by Raha Fard

EXHIBITION STATEMENT:

I researched internally from my body and soul as an Iranian female artist. How am I being affected by what I am experiencing as an artist far from my homeland? What distortion is happening within my psychological narratives? How could my beliefs, sensitivities, and background empower me to overcome the distortions and internal conflicts within me?

I feel duality in my life,

I feel a dichotomy in my soul,

I feel a chronic pain spreading into my body,

which incrementally displaces me as an independent person.

It interconnects me to the land which I carry in my heart.

It interconnects me to the smell, and tactility of soil,

where my memories are rooted in.

This poem's interconnection defines my life, rearticulates my days and nights, and motivates my art. My research is strongly connected with what is happening in the land connected to my identity, the Middle East. I convey my lived experience, critically observing the different government’s oppressive state reflecting my unsettledness in that land.

ARTIST BIO

Raha Fard is an Iranian-Canadian artist, based in GTA, Canada. She graduated from OCAD University with a BFA and has a Master’s degree in telecommunication engineering, and 15 years of experience; before that. She works in multiple disciplines such as drawing and painting, installation, digital art, and making short films. Investigating her own identity as a member of the Iranian diaspora, her works are rooted in traditional Persian architecture and Persian poetry, focusing on cultural and mystical themes which help her explore and define her identity regarding her motherland and the mystical beliefs which she was raised with. Her works also engage with critical perspectives related to social issues happening in the world.

She has participated in several group exhibitions in Iran, Canada, Italy, and Korea. She has received several awards including OCAD U President Award, Patricia Joy Alpert Memorial Award, Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and Scarborough Arts' 36th Annual Juried Exhibition Staff Pick Award for Visual Art. She is accepted as an MFA student at OCAD U for an Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art, Media, and Design for Fall 2022.