PAYAM MOFIDI

Destroyed Memories
5 October -24 October, 2012

Assar Art Gallery is pleased to present Destroyed Memories, an exhibition of paintings and a video animation, Poéticide, by Payam Mofidi.
With poetry and violence as the prevailing themes in his work, Payam Mofidi explores his memories, desires, dreams and nightmares in his collection of 15 figurative paintings on paper and a video animation.
His work represents the bits and pieces of memories that we choose to forget in order to avoid suffering.  It reveals what has been deliberately erased, intentionally or unintentionally, through time or by being overshadowed by other - perhaps happier - memories. 
His paintings are loosely based on the mise-en-scène of old photographs without any focus on the details of faces.  If there are any eyes at all, they are either closed or masked to emphasize once more our premeditated ignorance of what has happened in the past.  In addition, the lack of color and the sudden appearance of red in his paintings are reminiscent of not so happy memories. Due to the more tangible connection between the material and the subject, his chosen medium, ink on paper, too, allows him to portray his aggravated visions more effectively as the fragility and vulnerability of paper aggravates a sense of destruction. 
The work on the series started in 2010 and continued until 2012. In 2011, six of the smaller works from this series were exhibited at Gallerie Mekic in Montreal, Canada.  The complete series, however, will be debuted at Assar in October 2012. 
Born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran, Payam Mofidi currently works and lives in Montreal, Canada and has participated in numerous group exhibitions and festivals.  He has a Master’s degree in animation from L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratif in Paris.  His exhibition at Assar will be his first solo exhibition. 
Video Animation: Poéticide, 2010
Black & white - 11’- 23’’
Plot: A girl finding herself in a constant nightmare from which she finds no outlet.