The Idea Exchange is hosting a special Meet the Artist event with featured artist Soheila Esfahani, Saturday, Jan. 21 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Preston branch of the library.
The event will feature a casual tour and chat with the Waterloo-based artist and a fun activity inspired by the exhibition in the children’s area.
Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
Esfahani, whose exhibit Been T[here], curated by Karly Boileau, runs at the Cambridge Art Galleries until March 5, works with found objects and familiar images to create artworks that explore cultural translation, third space, post-colonial discourse, and otherness.
“In exploring this exhibition visitors can expect to see familiar images used in different ways to explore the idea of identity being a compound of things,” Boileau said in a press release. “Non-traditional materials like 3D printed objects share space with more traditional items like ceramics. There is a relationship to place and culture hinted at in much of the artwork, and there is a freedom for the viewer to explore and create their own meaning.”
Born in Iran and emigrating to Canada in the 1990s, Esfahani identifies as neither Iranian nor Canadian but somewhere in-between (a third space), where identity is negotiated and cultural borders are fluid. Inspired by souvenirs and seeing them as a form of ‘portable and collectable culture, Esfahani’s newest body of work, Been T[here] uses stereotypical Canadian and Iranian cultural motifs to challenge the idea of a static identity, suggesting that identity is constantly being negotiated, informed by our lived experiences and interactions.
Cultured Pallets, another installation by Esfahani, is currently on display in the lobby of Idea Exchange, Queen’s Square, 1 North Square, Cambridge.
The artist would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council for this body of work.
