July 2026 / Parisa Ghaderi

In the Back Space /

the city I swallowed by Parisa Ghaderi

July 2 - August 1, 2026
Opening Reception, Thursday, July 2, 5-8pm

Gallery Hours:
Friday–Sunday, 12–5pm

from here,
everything floats—
everything scratched, erased, emptied.
I swallowed the city I loved—
houses, trains, planes,
hands, and feet,
oh, the feet
that carried us over the line
only to leave us behind.
now, with every beat,
the city trembles in my chest,
I cough dust.

For years, I have been drawn to Marc Augé’s idea of non-places: spaces of passage defined by movement, impermanence, and dislocation. The war between the United States and Iran, from February 28 to June 17, 2026, transformed this theoretical framework into a lived reality, profoundly disrupting my family’s and my own sense of belonging and stability. Fragments of my hometown and cherished neighborhoods are etched into acrylic pedestals. Translucent glycerin hands and feet animate houses, trains, planes, and walls, transforming these structures into vessels of human experience. As the cast body parts physically sweat, they infuse the landscape with vulnerability, grief, and resilience.

At the center of the work is Shahrak-e Ekbatan, one of the largest planned communities in the Middle East, known for its strong sense of community and politically charged graffiti. The sculptures are intentionally worn and scarred. Their surfaces incorporate slogans and writings that emerged during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement—some overtly political, others expressing urgent desires: “Why?” and “I want to go back.”

Like war, this work is intentionally imperfect and messy, shaped by disruption, fragmentation, and uncertainty.

Graffiti translations:

• Why?

• Don’t lose hope.

• Woman, Life, Freedom.

• I want to go back.

• Mom, I miss you.

• Be the reason we can live with hope.

• Long live hope.