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Samira
Alikhanzadeh
The
Painter
Painted
No
More
Samira
Alikhanzadeh’s
‘The
Unforgottens’
in
few
clauses
and
NBs
First
Clause
– In
reading
of a
work
of
art,
media
is
as
important
as
form
and
idea,
and
its
choice
should
be
based
on
theoretical
principles.
Samira
Alikhanzadeh
studied
painting
with
Aydin
Aghdashloo
and
at
Azad
University
to
become
a
painter,
but
after
her
first
solo
painting
exhibition
she
never
held
another
exhibition
solely
of
paintings.
In
quest
to
discover
medias
of
her
time
and
to
re-read
the
traditional
medias,
Samira
became
engaged
with
a
blend
of
painting,
print
and
mirror-work,
a
choice
not
by
experience
nor
curiosity.
Second
Clause
–
Samira’s
morale
in
search
for
identity
compelled
her
to
engage
in
discovering
a
new
interpretation
of
the
Iranian
lifestyle
through
photographs
of
the
1950s.
This
decade
in
Iran’s
contemporary
history
is
distinguishable
because
after
the
Second
World
War
and
Iran
becoming
industrialised,
it
began
to
define
and
introduce
a
new
personality
and
Iranian
identity.
By
using
the
photographs
of
this
decade,
Samira
is
in
quest
to
decode
signs
of
this
new
identity
and
the
desire
for
recording
it;
an
identity
that
led
to
new
challenges
such
as
the
redefinition
of
socio-gendered
positionalities.
The
print
technology
gives
Samira
the
ability
for
a
direct
transfer
of
photographs.
In
her
previous
series,
she
creates
time
improbability
and
the
ghost-like
quality
of
the
photographed
personages
by
blurring
the
portraits
or
by
turning
them
into
negatives
in
her
mise-en-scènes,
but
in
The
Unforgottens,
the
suspension
of
the
screens
and
the
instalment
of
separate
layers
in
frames
resonates
this
phantomesque
quality.
NB
1-
Take
a
look
at
the
military
costume
of
the
bride
in
the
wedding
photograph,
the
horse-rider
women
and
ladies
in
men’s
clothing
in
Samira’s
older
works.
Third
Clause
– In
the
iconography
of
Samira’s
works,
unlike
their
decorative
appearances,
mirrors
are
used
as a
dynamic
and
appropriate
media
in
order
to
fulfil
the
artist’s
idea.
Mirror
is a
device
for
self-recognition,
self-creation
or
even
self-destruction.
These
reflections
in
her
works,
situates
the
audience
in
an
interactive
position
and
reflects
the
present
moment
against
a
lived
and
old
image.
In a
Lacanian
sense,
a
person
interacting
with
the
work,
experiences
a
mirror
stage
situation
within
a
sort
of
collective
history.
NB 2
–
take
a
look
at
the
paintings
and
mirror
installations
of
Michelangelo
Pistoletto.
Fourth
Clause
–
Samira’s
installations
especially
the
ones
in
this
series
consist
of
objects
that
their
nostalgic
characteristics
bold
the
essence
of
memory
and
affinity
to
the
past.
Suitcases
and
boxes
previously
consisted
of
objects
mesmerising
private
lives
and
had
merits
beyond
capitalistic
values.
These
boxes
were
usually
filled
with
cashmere
and
fabrics,
photo
albums,
photographs,
letters
and
certificates.
This
time,
Samira
has
placed
a
portrait
as a
sign
of
absence
inside
a
suitcase.
The
dress
and
the
portrait
printed
on
it,
or
the
figure
standing
on a
metal
mash
with
the
fabric
hanging
behind
it
are
yet
another
nostalgic
expression
in
the
process
of
her
search
for
identity.
NB 3
–
Pay
attention
to
the
third
sequence
of
the
movie
‘Notorious‘
directed
by
Shahpour
Gharib
in
1971
or
the
Criminal
Life
of
Archibaldo
de
la
Cruz
by
Luis
Buñuel
made
in
1955.
Ali
Bakhtiari
–
Tehran
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