Narges Porsandekhial
An underlying perplexity
July 31st - August 11th, 2023
Gordon Snelgrove Gallery, open Monday to Friday, between 10-4pm; closed Monday, August 7th
While everything has been said before, we still yearn to find new ways to enter into conversation and address key concerns and concepts anew. It is particularly this repetition that both bores and excites me. In seeking a connection within the repetition of daily life, I aim to create a familiar condition that welcomes anyone, regardless of their positionality.
In their emphasis on the importance of access to art, socially engaged practices and public art best serve my intentions. Through removing any physical or monetary barrier to the experience of art, these fields often exist beyond institutions and invite the new relationships I seek in the repositioning of the mundane and every day.
In my practice, the extrarational process of baking an idea determines the most suitable material and medium, varying from installation to text-based work, mixed media, and/or social practices. What fascinates me most is creating the conditions for an experience to happen by removing the artist’s direct presence in the artwork while focusing on interpersonal/intrapersonal interactions, social and political practices, and mental health issues, each as a form of inherent institutional critique. These fields exist beyond institutions.
I strive to make art that addresses everyone in its commonality, engenders feelings of belonging, of the communal, and ultimately, if successful acts therapeutic. This overt intention to enact an ethics of care within my artistic practice is rooted in my desire for connection at a time of displacement and disruption.
About the Artist
Narges Porsandekhial (she/her) is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist, studying her MFA degree at the University of Saskatchewan. She primarily works in installation, socially engaged practices, public art, and text-based work. Her work deals with the repetition of daily life activities, while focusing on conceptual and social practices, mental health issues, and institutional critique from time to time. She believes that art is not a luxurious object for a specific group of people and it’s the element of storytelling that invites a broad audience to the work.
