Distorting reality is a game often played by artists. Ava Afshari depends on her sense of touch to understand and learn about materials and textures to enable her to better build her own oeuvre. Mundane everyday pieces that are supposed to be touched, are de- familiarized to offer and alter one's perception of an easily understandable object. The act of transforming the familiar to peculiar and rendering useful tools useless.

By distorting reality, artist references a number of layers of meaning; limitations, discriminations, violence, distancing as occurred during Pandemic, and finally untouchability. For a generation that has grown up amidst different shortcomings and limitations, it is of outmost importance to find a way to speak out, or at least whisper.

Forcing clay, this primal material, and using intense heat to fuse and form ceramic pieces, is akin to what a nation has been made to live with. Artists defy the confines of the mold and shake up the familiar scene. And that is their strength and the power and merit of Iranian art. 

Born in 1992, Ava Afshari received her BA from prestigious Tehran Art University. She has worked with diverse materials in her sculptural works as well as her thought provoking installations and this is her first Solo exhibition.