The Sheer Skin
In The Sheer Skin, the interior of the sculpture is laid bare. Through the layering of sheer fabric, the viewer is exposed to both the flesh and the belly of the works. The sheer fabric itself acts as a surrogate for the human body, its translucence and malleability resembling the fragility of flesh. Up close, one is granted access to the minute details of the sculptures but remains on the outside as the works both unveil and conceal their meaning.
As a member of the Iranian diaspora, I was born into a society that heavily regulates its citizens’ public and private lives. Through restrictions such as strict dress codes, the government imposes its control over the body, leaving it in a state of tension with the threat of arrest hanging overhead. The hand-dyed fabric of the sculptures is similarly enacted upon and in tension as it is stretched, knotted, tightly twisted, cut, holed, and stitched. In this way, the fabric becomes a surrogate for the human body, bearing the marks of control, resistance, and resilience.
Through this reshaping, a new entity has emerged. Each sculpture is an embodied presence of memory, ideas, and imagination. By transforming the fabric from mundane domestic objects to sculptures for public view, I invite the audience to join in this process of remembering and re-imagining.
2021