SOHEILA K. ESFAHANI
My Place is Placeless
SEPTEMBER 3 - 27, 2014
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 6 - 9PM
The Red Head Gallery is pleased to present My Place is Placeless, an exhibition by artist Soheila K. Esfahani.
Esfahani’s art practice navigates the terrains of cultural translation and draws on her experience of living in both Western and Eastern (Iranian) cultures. Her recent practice explores the processes involved in cultural transfer and transformation by exploring the theoretical frameworks of Walter Benjamin’s concept of translation as a departure from the original and Homi Bhabha’s notions of the Third Space and in-betweeness. In her installations, Esfahani incorporates decorated shipping pallets, which metaphorically serve as objects of holding. These pallets are ready to move in-between and cross boundaries of places and cultures by being in a state of permanent transit.
Soheila K. Esfahani grew up in Tehran, Iran, and moved to Canada in 1992. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Waterloo. She is a recipient of grants from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund. As part of the SSHRCC grant, Esfahani participanted in a research/creation group entitled Immersion Emergencies and Possible Worlds: Engaging Water as Culture and Resource through Contemporary Art. Esfahani’s work is represented in public and private collections including the Canada Council’s Art Bank. She works from her studio at Kitchener’s artist–run centre, Globe Studios.
