Shahram Entekhabi 2009

Artist’s statement "about me

About myself and my work
As an Iranian-born artist who left to study in Europe, I am a product of Persian-Islamic culture enriched with a deep insight of European culture and its everyday life. As I travel the world and witness the similarities and differences between various cultures, I observe my surroundings without consuming it. People and their cultures intrigue me and in my study of them, of us and how we are, I attempt to also understand myself. Hence, I don’t separate myself from my work.
My main interest is to reveal our sense of insecurity when faced with someone unfamiliar to us. My work therefore engages with our prejudices and suspicion of ‘the Other’, of our fear and delusions. I explore this by visualizing our fear and paranoia and the stereotypes we construct of ‘the Other’ because of colour, religion or ethnicity; as well as how we try to separate ‘them’ from ‘us’ and in that process, how we participate in the ghettoization of the minority through perception, politics, propaganda and control.
I build my work via live art and per-formative elements, using videos, architecture, sculptures, drawings and photographs.

My journey so far and beyond
Throughout my journey and stays around the world, I’ve come to realize how our cultural belonging is to a large extent shaped by our childhood. For it is during our childhood that we are able to discover, understand and experiment in what is usually a secure and protected environment. At least for me, that was the case. My surroundings was deeply imbued with a strong sense of spirituality and this was where my impressions of Self, of others and how I engaged with the world was formed.
My experiences continued even when I left for Europe, but my engagement with my surroundings shifted in that I had to adapt my behaviour, which became more calculated and was often times, an after-thought. I had to think about everything. I would say I have always observed the West with my Eastern eyes.
I have always tried to strengthen my position as a medium between East and West. As such, I enjoy traveling across borders and discovering the space shared by these two cultures – a fascinating and exciting environment in which we are able to locate elements that may be different (and that’s okay) as well as elements that are common and can be shared and celebrated. I endeavour to find a channel for people to communicate, to engage in a dialogue and not a monologue.

My Identity and Social Reality
Living in migration for many years and having an assortment of so-called identities imposed on me, e.g. ‘foreigner’, ‘Persian’, ‘Muslim’, etc. has made me realize how one’s personal identity is really a hybrid and not monolithic at all. We are who we are, made up of and influenced by a variety of inter-playing elements.
My consciousness about being an artist has definitely given me the opportunity to discover experiences of being in contrasting environments and understanding how this impacts one’s identity. Fascinatingly enough, it has allowed me to come ‘home’…Through reflection and introspection, I’ve come to appreciate how the spiritual, Muslim and Oriental aspects of my upbringing are very much a part of who I am as an individual.
Indeed, I see the artist as a hybrid, a very elastic sort of identity, of having access to what ‘was’ and ‘is’. I also believe in the necessity of cultures opening up to each other and to mutually contribute towards the thought and production of contemporary art.

Me and Iran
I am fascinated by notions of ‘Iranian/Persian culture’ – of its location beyond borders of time and geography. Perhaps this is due to my upbringing- a significant period of my life was spent in Iran and it was a happy one. Further, as one who is in a constant state of migration, I have always sought for a ‘home’ away from ‘home’.
It is amusing to note that the tendency to cast individuals within a single category is no different with how societies, cultures and even countries are perceived. Certainly Iran’s position as a cultural and geographical corridor between the East and West has been overlooked.