Image Corpus
The photos were images of Alborz’s hand-made photo-based collages and by projecting them using this technique, the artist aimed to show a three-dimensional sculpture-like installation. The flat images, depicting the human body, became “beams of light” and “almost immaterial”, showing multi-layered explorations.
Following “Pieces of Body”, Alborz Kazemi continued his collages that were originally inspired by the experience of seeing two photographs lying on each other. Work on the current series started in 2015 when the artist decided to present his photographs in new settings and using multiple presentation styles to create multiple readings.
He explains: “This project started with working on images of figures and making collages based on them. When you see a part of the body separated from the rest of it, a ghastly feeling falls over you. Like when you see pain and you can in a sense feel the pain and feel affected.” By taking photographs of his collages, rather than presenting their physicality, Alborz Kazemi took a step further to change the way the images are seen and read.
The exhibition includes such photographed collages, printed and framed, as well as an installation of three-dimensional objects. These works are pieces of photographs mounted on molds that are reminiscent of pieces of body, but in a more abstract way. These works are presented lying on a large table, as if lying on the autopsy bed.
The title of the exhibition, “Image Corpus”, is a reference to both the artist’s previous works as well as the presentation style used in the current exhibition. A corpus is the grand scale of all materials available but reminds one of the word ‘corpse’ as well. Kazemi explains: “The body has a presence in my previous work but in this series, the photos and the installation have imagined a body for the photographs and the series, hence it is the manifestation of the photograph. In many instances, a photo becomes more than a mere image, like when you kiss the photograph of a beloved —the photo becomes a substitute for the person that you wished was with you.”
