Baby

Baby, 2020is made entirely from key chains collected from Moshiri’s own travels. According to Jose Diaz when he discussed another piece made from the same media at the Warhol museum exhibition- “These objects are often obtained as souvenirs, and each ring often carries a visual representation from consumer culture, yet collectively they take on a new existence by being presented as a phrase.”

In essence Baby,2020 is in fact recycled mass-produced souvenirs. Its title hints to the romantic connotation of the chosen word -one used by many in contemporary culture to describe their spouses, partners and lovers. While much of Moshiri’s practice often alludes to matters of the heart in various forms as seen in his iconic Faghat Eshgh (Only Love), 2007 or Eshgh (Love), 2007, it is his choice of material that always adds an additional layer and perspective to his messaging. Both of these works were for instance not just about Love, they were also meant to represent his stylistic transition from what he refers to as going from “Crack to Crystal”, ultimately emphasising his conceptual approach vis à vis his surroundings: a continuously evolving paradoxical post-revolutionary Iranian society.

With the present installation Moshiri took a more global approach. He says he chose to work with key chains considering they are amongst one of the most banal objects one can find and yet they can contain so much symbolism as a memory of a specific place and time. To date he has only ever produced three works with this media and Baby, 2020 is the first one to be offered at auction. He believes these pieces may translate into “a hot mess” due to his chosen material, an aspect he fully embraces. To him their graffiti-esque naïveté makes these installations both curious and amusing and he likes to wonder whether these pieces will be perceived as clever or idiotic. He also insists that although he likes to experiment and stay playful in his practice, he gives significant importance to the way his work is presented, “At the end of the day, it has to look good. I don’t mean pretty. It should be aesthetically strong in what it is trying to achieve. I think it is the attention to the details that possibly provides this other angle of perception that you are talking about.” 1

During his years at CalArts, Moshiri was greatly influenced by the faculty, which included conceptual artist John Baldessari and sound-synthesizer inventor and electronic musician Don Buchla. His college mentors and the developments in art and technology taking place at the time made this a very experimental period for Moshiri. For example, the emerging neo-geo movement, also known as neo-geometric conceptualism, rattled the American art scene. Artists such as Jeff Koons, Haim Steinbach, and Meyer Vaisman consolidated Pop, minimalism, and conceptual practices and used American consumerism as a source of inspiration for their work. Moshiri eventually became associated with this group. Neo-geo fluidly went by other names: neo-pop, post-abstract abstraction, and post-conceptualism, among others. 2

While Moshiri has credited neo-geo as having the greatest impact on his work, other influences feed into his practice as well. He has openly stated having always been fascinated with Dadaism and contemporary culture has kept him constantly inspired. With studios in Paris and Tehran, and gallery representation on multiple continents, he traverses borders both physically and conceptually in his art practice. Although his artwork is often stereotyped as Pop, exotic, or rooted in Persian traditions and styles, it is very much about global exchanges. Moshiri is able to appropriate from, parody, and steer his art from all directions: North, South, East, and certainly West. His work takes a complex look at how we define our own cultural identity. 3

Farhad Moshiri became well known for his ironic interpretations of hybrids between traditional Iranian forms and those of the globalised consumerist and popular culture. Utilising a repertoire of mediums, candy colours and tools, he plays with the codes of modernism while developing a flamboyant iconography. Beyond the confines of pure aestheticism, he continues to provide a unique perspective through playful irreverence and layered complexities in his work.

1 Farhad Moshiri in conversation with Jose Carlos Diaz “Cardinal Points; Navigating Farhad Moshiri”, Go West exh cat, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, 2017 p. 20
2 Farhad Moshiri in conversation with Jose Carlos Diaz ibid p. 18
3 Farhad Moshiri in conversation with Jose Carlos Diaz ibid p. 18-19