Press Release
From the dawn of painting, representation has always been a concern in the mind of a painter. When photography took its place as a new form of representing, the thin line between representing and imitating became even thinner. There is no doubt that representation in art, is indicative of the concept of being “about” something. This is a referral to Clive Bell’s principle, that for something to become art, the essential is to find a meaning. This kind of art is always beyond what it seems at first glance. So it represents something which is not to be distinguished from what is evident.
I don’t know why the artist has titled this collection “The Mountain, Is the Mountain”. But in contrary to what it may seem, these paintings are not mountains. Because if they were, there was no excitement in seeing them. These are the symbolic definition of a mountain, the eternal remembrance of impotence in humans, the projection of human loneliness and fragility compared to stones and the Gods resting on them. Mostafa Farajabadi’s mountain is also like this, his work is not concerning geography or topography or the diagram of the mountain. Having said that; one of his paintings reminds me of the picture that Walter Mittleholzer, the Swiss photographer took form Damavand. However, Farajabadi has made a symbolic representation. The ethereal mountain which captivated Zahhak, the well that devours the sun. Mountain is a division between the lands; a remark on the isolation of nomads. Confronting these illustrations makes us feel the immensity of a mountain and therefore the glory of this monstrosity covered in snow.
Mostafa Farajabadi’s mountains are variable, discrete and segregated. It’s completely different from its context and that’s what I love about them. His mind hasn’t been occupied with the intellectual and elitist problems of the capital and I hope it stays that way.
– Shahrouz Nazari