Reception: Saturday, January 11, 2025 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Mohadese Movahed : Voices of Feathers, Voices of Daggers
Text by Sara Trapara
Born and raised within a post-revolutionary Iran, Mohadese Movahed is a contemporary artist whose work navigates the psychological complexities of living under oppression. Currently based in Vancouver, Movahed explores her experience of geographic displacement and diaspora through the Voices of Feathers, Voices of Daggers series, while also addressing how resistance and control, presence and erasure, as well as hope and despair shape lived experience. As the Islamic revolution of 1979 dramatically transformed all aspects of Iranian life, Movahed’s work highlights how forms of resistance and protest survive despite totalitarian suppression.
This series explores how the built environment is altered by memories and experiences of trauma, oppression, and violence. Movahed mobilizes the metaphor of the wall to convey the rigidity and inflexibility of authoritarian regimes—brick and concrete walls dominate the space of her paintings, along with chain-link fences, boarded-up shops, and barricaded windows. These structures visually convey the ways in which oppressive systems of power impose boundaries and control both public and private spaces. At the same time, the surfaces of the walls are covered in graffitied messages of peace, smiley faces, stickers, posters, and old photographs, demonstrating the transformative potential of the wall as a site for collective expression and resistance.
The works encourage viewers to reflect upon the intersections and dualities that continuously redefine our understanding of place and identity. While the paintings are largely absent of human figures, the shadows of fragmented bodies are present throughout. The persistence of these figures evokes a sense of both presence and erasure, conveying how oppressive regimes attempt to isolate individuals and silence their voices. Movahed weaves a speculative sense of place where despair and hope collide—flowers bloom in the asphalt, overgrown hedges swallow traffic signs, and the symbol of the evil eye wards off negative energy. Ultimately, Movahed’s paintings demonstrate how the voices of feathers challenge the voices of daggers, offering radical possibilities for hope and resurgence.
