Betweenscapes

Betweenscapes presents the work of 14 artists that visualizes the in-between as a site of criticality, addressing unresolved histories and posing questions about colonialism, migration, and transnational solidarity.
curated by Kathy Zarur and Roula Seikaly

Participating Artists

Michael Arcega
Rea Lynn de Guzman
Sarah Farahat
Henry Francisco
Anahita Hekmat
Robin Lasser + Adrienne Pao
Means of Exchange
Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here
Bonny Nahmias
Eric Nodora
Susana Eslava Sáenz
Azin Seraj
Keyvan Shovir
Weston Teruya

In this group exhibition, Keyvan Shovir presented an installation titled “Simorgh in cage”Hand and machine-cut wood, paint, Speakers

The Simorgh is a mythical bird that is ubiquitous in Persian literary culture.
In the Sufi poet Farid Ud-Din Atta’s celebrated twelfth-century epic poem The Conference of the Birds, the birds of the world convene to decide who will be their new master, possibly the elusive Simorgh. To find his adobe, the thirty birds must pass through seven valleys representing human experience: journey, love, knowledge, detachment, unity, and wonderment. In the end, they realize that Simorgh comprises each of the birds, a metaphor for unity and the possibility of the divine within.
Keyvan Shovir adapts the tale of the Simorgh, and the potent metaphor of psychological and physical travel in his installation.he does so to address including immigration and displacement. Shovir revised the project in the midst of the continuing debate over the Muslim travel ban, which applied to seven countries and coincidentally references Attar’s seven valleys. The version was shown at between at Betweenscapes blends the two references. It features seven amplified birdhouses that emit bird songs commonly heard in each of the seven impacted countries while indicating the seven valleys in Attar’s story. Shovir invites audiences to access the space of the installation, an upward spiral that suggests both journeying and ultimately, unity.

The US Supreme Court has upheld a ban by President Donald Trump on travel to the US from seven countries: North Korea, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Chad.
In this installation, I chose International birds of this countries.