Ghasemi Brothers | "Darbedar-e Hamishegi": Parallel Circuit

Their inaugural show, "The Red Room" (Dastan’s Basement, 2016), inspired, fueled, and shaped the dynamic of their subsequent collaboration. “Red Room 2: Migratory Birds” (Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, 2017) focused on immigration, giving their work a more objective direction. "Blue Room" (V-Gallery, a Dastan:Outside Project, 2018) further emphasized their affinity to the Caspian. In the current exhibition, "Darbedar-e Hamishegi,” migratory birds and the theme of migration are bold in the paintings. This time, however, the artists "constrain" their field of vision to behold the sky above – and not the sea or land below. The title is part of a song of longing ("The permanent vagrant") by an exiled Iranian singer that the artists played working in their studio. While sculptures have been part of their shows since "The Red Room,” they play a more significant role in this exhibition. Almost all depict birds trying to disentangle themselves from a situation. One sculpture is a boat carrying shape-shifting passengers.

Their inaugural show, "The Red Room" (Dastan’s Basement, 2016), inspired, fueled, and shaped the dynamic of their subsequent collaboration. “Red Room 2: Migratory Birds” (Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, 2017) focused on immigration, giving their work a more objective direction. "Blue Room" (V-Gallery, a Dastan:Outside Project, 2018) further underlines their affinity to the Caspian. The title of the current exhibition, "Darbedar-e Hamishegi,” is taken from a song of longing by a famous Iranian singer in exile. The artists listened to particular music ("Qalandar" or "Free-spirited") while working in their studio. The theme of migration (exile), appearing first in "The Red Room 2", evolves. If in their previous exhibitions, Ghasemi Brothers brought the whole expanse of land, water, and sky together, in their latest, they shift their angle of view meaningfully. Except for a single work (Untitled, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 160 by 180 cm) in which three figures are shown lounging among trees and beholding the beyond, the focal point of other works is the sky. 

This is an ontological shift on the surface of the canvas. The earth (canvas), where our roots are extended, can no longer compete with our heavenward ambitions. There is no place to land because the expanse of the virtual no longer feels bound and dependent on the earth. Suppose the earth's gravity was a springboard for our imagination to take flight and behold the invisible and the inaccessible. In that case, we feel we are no longer bound by gravity. Our technologies have given us the impression that we can omit the earth from the equation altogether and submerge in the infinite sky. Our event horizon is epistemologically upon us ("a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer"). Our upward gaze has metamorphosed since the "Copernican Revolution." If our ancestors felt grounded to this earth and saw the sky as an infinite and transcendental boundary, Copernicans saw our planet as just another celestial body among myriad others. This view of the universe has evolved, so we no longer feel dependent on this earth. This is our event horizon.

The role of sculpture in "Darbedar-e Hamishegi” becomes more pronounced. If the sky can be abstracted on canvas from the earth and sea, they cannot be as easily separated in sculptures. In them, migratory birds find themselves in entangled situations, and humans try to come to terms with the elements. The earth in these sculptures reasserts its agency. Our physic, materiality, and organic substantiality return us to our bodies. The migrant has no control, even on their vagrancy.

"Their solo exhibitions include: "Saturn Devours His Children" (Emrooz Gallery, Isfahan, 2021) | "On the Port" (Choom Gallery, Bandar-e Anzali, 2020) | "Big Fish" (Dastan +2, Tehran, 2020) | "Blue Room" (V-Gallery, a Dastan: Outside Project, Tehran, 2018) | "Red Room 2: Migratory Birds" curated by Roya Khadjavi (Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, 2017) | "Red Room" (Dastan’s Basement, Tehran, 2016). Their work has also appeared in group exhibitions: "Realism" (Dastan Outside Projects, London, UK 2023) | "Soft Edge of the Blade" (Dastan International Exhibition, London, UK 2022) | "Svistok" (Choom Gallery, Bandar-e Anzali, Iran 2021) | "us" (Bavan Gallery, Ahvaz, Iran 2021) | "Birds" (Soo Contemporary, Tehran, Iran 2021).