Arezou Moosavi - Artist Statement
My goal is for the unseen to become seen, the small to become large. Put a spotlight on what society overlooks, underestimates, or keeps hidden. Make it so that if the viewer misses anything, they do not miss what I intended them to find. In Tunnel Vision, 2019, that was the impact of media, text, and the violence western imperialism.
In another work, it was the duties of those working in jobs like construction workers-- the ones who build our cities, but get nowhere near the amount of appreciation for it compared to other, more “glamorous” jobs-- and portraying them as the grand painters of our cities. This concept was titled Glamourous Mundane.
Tunnel Vision, 2019, mentioned previously, is an installation piece I am currently working on that met some dramatic changes as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. It began as a large tunnel built of paper and Persian fabric. The idea was that with a black light, the viewer would walk in and read all the articles (painted over with glow in the dark paint to look like a bloody sky) on the violence of imperialism and how that impacts Iranian LGBT+ communities. It was meant to be interactive: since the tunnel would be completely dark, the viewer themselves has to “illuminate” the articles with a black light in order to read them. However, since the official presentation of the work would no longer be in person, but rather, a virtual presentation, this work, once filled with “what will be,” became a series of “what would’ve been.” It is not all that bad, though. In trying to find a virtual means of presenting the work that satisfied me best, I began to explore software I had never once thought about trying before: 3D modeling. There was no way I would be satisfied with a 2D sketch of my work. Especially this one, that so heavily relies on the mind-body experience of the viewer. Therefore, by getting into 3D modeling, this is an attempt to recreate “what would have been” by replicating a first-person video game experience. Ideally, what would result from this is a video walking through a 3D space that replicates what the work is imagined to be. Otherwise, it would be a video supplemented by any additional screenshots deemed necessary.