Parergon
Babak Golkar
10 November 2011–12 January 2012
The Third Line
Al Quoz, Street 6,
POBox 72036
Dubai, UAE
T +9714 3411 367
www.thethirdline.com
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Parergon, Babak Golkar’s first solo exhibition in the UAE, brings unique and thought provoking challenges in architectural design and sculpture. The series is comprised of objects that resemble interrupted or deformed frames. As the frames are not closed, the viewer is able to view the cross sections and explore the distinctive forms that they represent. On careful examination, the section cuts reveal identifiable architectural silhouettes of well-known structures, such as the Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock.
The title of the exhibition comes from the studies of French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) who developed the theory of ‘deconstruction’. His work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy. “It seems appropriate, then, to seek to understand the physical and cultural contexts which allow the work to be perceived as work, instead of looking for pre-established essential artistic qualities in it,” writes Vancouver-based artist and writer Erdem Taşdelen in the exhbition’s catalogue essay. “Derrida’s approach to thinking about art in The Truth in Painting is along such lines, where he draws from Kant’s Critique of Judgment in thinking about what frames a work. He says that when looking at a framed painting, the frame is part of the wall (the exterior), whereas when looking at the wall, the frame is part of the painting (the interior). The function of the frame, then, is to separate the interior from the exterior. But what is the frame itself? It seems to provide a liminal space that cannot be pinned down as of the work or outside of the work, so it must have a logic of its own. This is what Derrida calls the parergon.
This investigation of the frame (both as a literal picture frame and a metaphorical concept that denotes context) forms the core of artist Babak Golkar’s series of deformed frames entitled Parergon. Much of Golkar’s work draws attention to physical and cultural contexts that are utilized in making meaning, and this is more strikingly evident in this series where frames are enlarged to dramatic proportions, becoming part of the architecture in which they are viewed. Golkar’s frames can literally be seen as broken parerga, no longer framing enclosed entities but opening up to the rest of the gallery space. There seems to be a push and pull between the frames and their surroundings, where the gallery frames the frames by hosting them in the first place, but the frames also frame parts of the gallery, resulting in a tension that makes it hard to pinpoint what the framing device is.”
About Babak Golkar
Golkar’s practice spreads across diverse medium, ranging from drawing, video, performance, sculpture and site-specific installation; nonetheless, his interests in subjects and issues surrounding his practice remain constant.
Born in California and raised in Tehran, Golkar has been living in Vancouver since 1996. He has been actively participating in exhibitions in North America, Europe and Asia. He has exhibited throughout Canada and has participated in shows in Vienna, Kuwait, Berlin and London, and most recently at the Sanitorium Project in Istanbul, Turkey and Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece, and was shortlisted as one of the finalists for the 2011 Jameel Art Prize. He currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
About Erdem Taşdelen
Taşdelen is a Vancouver-based artist practicing in a range of media. After finishing a joint degree in Visual Arts and Communication Design in Istanbul, Turkey, Erdem obtained his graduate degree in Visual Arts from Emily Carr University in Vancouver in 2010, where he continues to teach. He has exhibited his work in a number of exhibitions including at the Kasa Galeri and Hayaka Arti in Istanbul, and the Charles H. Scott Gallery and 221A Artist Run Centre in Vancouver.
About The Third Line
The Third Line is an art gallery that represents contemporary Middle Eastern artists locally, regionally and internationally, with a gallery space in Dubai. In addition to on-going exhibitions, The Third Line hosts non-profit, alternative programs to increase interest and debate in the region. This includes film screenings; and an international multimedia forum for artists and designers called Pecha Kucha Night Dubai.
The Third Line also publishes books by associated artists from the region. Books published to date include Presence by Emirati photographer Lamya Gargash (2008), and In Absentia by Palestinian-Kuwaiti Tarek Al-Ghoussein (2009), and most recently Cosmic Geometry, an extensive monograph on Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Karen Marta (2011).
Represented artists include: Abbas Akhavan, Ala Ebtekar, Amir H. Fallah, Babak Golkar, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Farhad Moshiri, Fouad Elkoury, Golnaz Fathi, Hassan Hajjaj, Hayv Kahraman, Huda Lutfi, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Lamya Gargash, Laleh Khorramian, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum, Shezad Dawood, Shirin Aliabadi, Slavs and Tatars, Susan Hefuna, Tarek Al- Ghoussein and Youssef Nabil.
