1. This is written in Farsi – archival pen on paper; 52 x 52 in.
2. Grandfather’s brown chair – archival pen on stonehenge paper; 52 x 38 in.
Nina Ghanbarzadeh
Nina Ghanbarzadeh who lives between two cultures (American-Persian) finds herself translating constantly. She tries to avoid this by situating text as a place for shifting perspectives in her art. Would it be possible to communicate without being concerned with legibility or translation? How communication gets affected when written text steps out of it’s traditional function? Would the art have the same impact if the original language were to be translated? Is it even necessary to translate when text acts as color or shapes in work of art? What happens when written text is being treated as an object?
Ghanbarzadeh writes repetitive lines of text that unfold into pattern and shapes. These shapes have entities of their own that respond to the written text or phrase and also reveal some cultural or personal information. She is inspired by Persian poetry and memories of her birthplace. The repetitive lines of phrases depict her emotions at a specific moment of time. Through the meditative act of writing repetitively and creating shapes, she is exploring her background and multicultural life.
© Nina Ghanbarzadeh