Artemis Akchoti Shahbazi
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Wooden Books is a series that includes the first Kings from Ferdowsi's creation myths, alongside the last monarchs.  Contrary to the narrative miniatures typically used to illustrate Ferdowsi's epic poem, Artemis' kings and queens are portraits, each the result of a thorough investigation of the esthetic elements attributed to each ruler by Ferdowsi or, in the case of the more recent dynasties, the study of 19th century travelogues, painted portraits and photographs. The artist tempers this approach by perusing contemporary faces of random people who wear a given ruler’s name.  All the portraits are symbolically non realistic, informed by poetry, prose and the artist's investigations. The emphasis is on working within the predetermined shapes and dimensions for each ruler and on how the natural place and shape of things have been manipulated to challenge the viewer’s recognition of expected esthetics, forms, colors and concepts.

The pieces are made out of reclaimed American wood. These woods were transformed by time, human use and 
labor and by the artist. The link between the East and the West is brought into the work with the Western travelogues and the material used.
Copyright © Artemis Akchoti Shahbazi 2013-2022
​All rights reserved
  • Home
  • Mythology & Travelogues
    • Other kings... Other stories...
    • Wooden Books
    • A dynasty in Perspective
    • XIX-XX century travelogues
  • Worldbuilding Experiments
    • Blog
    • The Matrix of Human Identity
    • Sanctionwear
    • Ways of Seeing Iran and the Arab World
    • Democracy to Revolution >
      • Democracy to revolution
      • A (very) brief (hi)Story of Revolutions
      • (R)Evolution
      • Heads of wars
      • Democracy
    • Memories of East & West
    • The story lines
  • Curatorial Projects
    • The Impermanence Platform >
      • Videos
      • Curatorial Projects
    • Raafat Majzoub: Grounds
    • Identities in Movement
  • About
    • News
    • PRESS
  • Contact