Artist Statement “I have a face, but my face is not what I am, behind it lies a mind, which you do not see but which looks out on you. This face is a medium I own to express something of what I am. I turn to the mirror, then my face seems to won me; to confront me as a condition to which I am bound”. Bell Jullia A sense of melancholia and nostalgia reminiscent of one’s past, identity, gender, culture and religion have always been common elements of my art. In an emotional, poetic atmosphere and through a magnified celluloid frame of self-portraits, I would like to create a moment of pause within one’s self, a moment of silence, a moment of ponder and inquiry. These self-exposures and portraits are autobiographical and personal confession from an artist, a woman both Iranian and Canadian; both a mother and a wife. By using a lot of solvent, I lift up paint and create drips and splashes; bringing the image to life by adding paint and then trying to fade that image away by subsequently removing the paint. This process leaves me with the creation of unexpected textures, unpredictable and difficult to control…. Much like life itself. I direct, perform and act in front of the mirror and paint from photographs of images of myself taken by someone else. I view and I am viewed. It is all about questioning the tension between reality and illusion Trapped in cell, I am searching for the lost memory of my past through my own eyes. A memory so tangible at the same time so fragile like skin, a memory melting, manipulating, fading by time, a puzzled reminiscence no one could substantiate its actuality even myself. Massoumeh Jian
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