Voice-over (in three parts)
Curated by Joseph Del Pesco (United States) and Sohrab Kashani (Iran)
Six artist videos are presented in three pairs. Each work stands alone, while the pairings are connected through the use of extra-diegetic audio, a sonic layer that exists beyond the visible image. One of the most familiar forms of this added layer is the narrator’s voice, commonly used in cinema as an expository device to support a storyline. In these works, however, voice-over is reconfigured as a space for interpretation, reflection, questioning, and provocation. The speaking voice is never seen, and the language points towards complex and, at times, abstract inner worlds.
Each pairing brings together an American and an Iranian artist, reflecting the bi-located nature of Sazmanab’s exhibition space in Tehran and its counterpart, The Other Apartment, at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. While the pairs are not organised under thematic titles, closer viewing reveals affinities between each duo, including observations of individual activity, mythological atmospheres, and the interlacing of poetic rhythm with visual memory.
Artists: Morehshin Allahyari, Alex Da Corte, Arash Fayez, Sara Magenheimer, Siavash Naghshbandi, and Beatriz Santiago Muñoz.
The exhibition is made possible with support from Creative Capital and Video Data Bank.
