Exhibition opening, film screening, performance: 11 March 2025 18:00 – 20:00
Opening speech: dr.habil Tünde Mariann Varga
Exhibition open: 11-14 March 2025.
There are good and bad critical moments in our lives that we have to learn to navigate, such as having a baby, getting married, or the death of a loved one who depends on us.
Death is a natural part of life that we will all inevitably face. We can choose to ignore it, or confront the prospect and reflect on it. Death serves as a mirror that reflects on the entire meaning of life.
In addition to her personal encounter with the phenomenon of death, Zahra Fuladvand researched the social aspect of rituals during her DLA studies at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts (2017-2022). For her as an Iranian artist, funeral ritual is a means to explore and articulate the relationships between herself and others, and between herself and death. It is a language, as opposed to biological communication, of ancient gestures that humanity has historically transformed into the complex patterns we call ritual.
The series of photographs and video documentation presented in the exhibition are the result of the performance “Darkness Before Birth and After Death”, which was shown at the Artus Studio as part of the exhibition “UNSEEN…UNHEARD…UNSPOKEN” in May 2019.
This performance was inspired by an Iranian funeral ceremony. Subsequently, Fuladvand with the help of Dr. habil Judit Csanádi, developed a new narrative about the encounter and perception of death through three visual panels and three stories, entitled “Me, Death, Ritual”, which was exhibited at the Három Hét Gallery in 2020.
Now, after almost five years, the performance “My daughter/me/My mom” adds a new layer to the context of the theme.
About This Project:
Creator: Zahra Fuladvand
Curator: dr.habil Tünde Mariann Varga
Photographer: Dr. Csanádi Gábor
Camera and Video Editor: Manuel F. Contreras
My daughter/me/My mom
Performers:
Zsofia Jozifek
Anna Kecskes
Reka Toth Bernat
About the Artist:
Zahra Fuladvand is an Iranian visual artist researching and studying pre-existing natural spaces for performative arts. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Tehran Art University. Recently, she earned her PhD from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts DLA school, where she held the Hungaricum Stipendium scholarship for five years. During her DLA studies, she began exploring unconventional environments in her art practices. Performing in Metro Line 2 in Budapest (“The Mirror,” 2019), as well as performing on the street in front of her previous building (“280 Days,” 2020), and creating the video art “14 Days” (2019), shot in a hospital room, are parts of her journey to explore the relationship between audiences in non-theatrical environments and performance. Her DLA thesis is titled “Community, Place, and Environment in Ritual Performance.”
www.artselfreflection.com