Isolated bodies, waiting for a touch: Tirdad Hashemi, Soufia Erfanian and Mahsa Saloor
Intestine disorder is a condition that has been largely caused by stress and anxiety since Tirdad Hashemi's childhood. As a transgender person, Tirdad has always focused on studying weakened, isolated, and reshaped bodies through their paintings. Drawing ill and malfunctioning intestines together with Soufia Erfanian, Tirdad's partner, is a form of caring for each other in their relationship. Mahsa Saloor's poem accompanying the drawings, allows Tirdad to explore other aspects of the body, which is very important to them as a POC who grew up and lived in a community-oriented culture of Iran. Saloor’s poetry explores the relationship between nature, queer feminist spirituality, sensuality, and eros. They are interested in the subversive potential of poetry as a form to activate the interiority of psychic life to be a sensuous experience, and as a tool for fostering cosmologies that aim to recuperate our relationship with nature, the sacred, and the erotic. Connected, Dou's drawings and Mahsa's words gain more meaning and become more powerful.
Tirdad Hashemi and Soufia Erfanian are a queer couple originally from Iran who now reside in Berlin, intertwining their shared life experiences into their artistic expressions. Tirdad draws upon a background in fine arts and a nomadic existence to explore themes of identity, memory, and the pursuit of belonging through their evocative paintings. Soufia, with a foundation in architecture and engineering, discovered in art a profound means of survival and expression beyond societal expectations. Her artworks resonate with poignant tales of human connection, capturing the complexities of life’s emotional landscapes. Together, the duo's practice embodies their shared quest for self-discovery and their deep empathy for the human condition. Their works serve as a testament to the transformative power of creativity and love, inviting viewers to reflect on universal themes of home, belonging, and the intricacies of human emotions.
Mahsa Saloor is an Iranian artist based in Berlin, and works between painting, poetry, and film. Their practice explores themes of nature, relationality, spirituality, and desire. Mahsa’spoetry explores the relationship between nature, queer feminist spirituality, sensuality, and eros. Saloor is interested in the subversive potential of poetry as a form to activate the interiority of psychic life to be a sensuous experience, and as a tool for fostering cosmologies that aim to recuperate our relationship with nature, the sacred, and the erotic. To make these series, Tirdad Hashemi, Soufia Erfanian and MahsaSaloor worked together as a collective.
