Part of Contemporary Art Norwich 2007.

Iranian artist Zory (Farngis Shahrokhi) presents her moving installation featuring images, videos and sculpture exploring themes of personal, individual and mass displacement. From sculptures consisting of 30,000 safety pins or sewn-up masks, through to the central interactive video installation ‘Waves’, Zory examines the status of refugees and asylum seekers.

‘Waves’ (on display from Tue 14th to Sat 18th August) follows the journey of a woman escaping by sea, struggling through the waves to reach the shore. Visitors to the installation are captured on overhead CCTV cameras and become part of the story itself – your actions will become part of the work – you too are trapped in the waves.


Works in exhibition:

1-Bundle 2006-2007
Installation
Cloth and cotton filling.
Bundles are large cloths that many people in the world use for carrying their goods when they travel.  The large bundles usually suggest a long journey or leaving permanently such as refugees. 

2- Waves  2007
Photograph
Still from video
Stretched canvas

3- Masks 2002-2007
Video (Duration 2.minutes in loop)
In this short video I am taking off my mask but underneath my face there is another mask.  This action is repeated with many different masks. There is drum music which I have made by repeating the drum every ten seconds. 

4- Danger! Keep them away.  2003-2007
Sculpture Instillation
Latex, Safety pins and fabric on a board
Size: will be adjusted to the window sizes
This is part of a series installations with masks and safety-pins. The masks are made from latex and muslin, some of the lips and eyes of the masks have been sewn with poems.

5- Waves 2007
Interactive video installation
Showing Tue 14 - Sat 18 August; 10am - 7pm

"This video is based on my interest on the sea as a metaphor to portray displacement.  The Waves video consists of three parts in a loop projecting on three screens. The first part of the video shows cloth bundles floating on top of waves.  The round shapes of the bundles are a reminder of crumpled human body and their act of risking their life to cross the border.  It ends with floating and landing of a shoe on the shore.

The second part of the video shows only huge waves one after the other and it will change with the audience’s image and movement in the projecting space.  The body and physical movement of the audience will be captured by the overhead camera (or cctv- spy cameras) and then it will be projected back on to the screen.  A new audience will become the new actors of the video and their body images will be absorbed into the waves.   Their movement becomes part of the story as it seems they are trapped in the waves too and struggling for their life.  When the spectator leave the projection room the additional picture(s) of them will also disappear. The spectator’s body in the room will form part of the body of the work. The audience will watch their own act of watching.  Their images placed in a situation that will not happen to them but to the “Others”. They confront with the spectators of contemporary violations.

The third part of the video follows a woman we do not know where and why she wants to escape but there are different clips directly and indirectly showing her struggle with the stormy sea.  She struggles through the waves to reach the shore. After her escape she is waiting in Dover by the sea (portraying the loss of those who haven’t fulfilled their journey).

The sea waves replace the walls, fence restrictions and violations against freedom seekers to pass the border.  Dover has been used as a site for crossing the border in this work as it had so many traumas for so called migrants and refugees. Such as 58 Chinese migrants found suffocated in the back of a lorry in June 2000 when they attempted to enter Britain via the port of Dover. 

The installation will also incorporate cloth bundles made from Middle Eastern fabric placed on the floor. Bundles are large cloths that many people in the world use for carrying their goods when they travel.  The large bundles suggest a long journey or leaving permanently."

Artists involved in the production of the video installation: Alan Peacock, Interactivity; Sogand Bahram, Director assistant and video camera work; Nour Alkawaja, Actress; James Alliban, flash specialist and interactivity; Dean Warrington, Technician and site support; Nasrin Parvaz, Writer.

6- Figure #1
2001-2007
Drawing instillation.
30,000 Safety pins

7- Leaving. 2004
Sculpture Instillation.
Resin, fabric


8- Waves  2007
Photograph
Still from video

In association with:

Part of Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 - the second biennial festival of contemporary art in Norwich. As well as the exhibition of the Iranian born British based artist Zory, NAC hosts a much anticipated retrospective of Norfolk based artist Bruce Lacey and a live art event curated by Richard Dedomenici. Also as part of Contemporary Art Norwich 2007 - the EAST exhibition at the Norwich Gallery and exhibitions at the Sainsbury Centre, Outpost Gallery and Castle Museum.