Hanieh Kashani | Portfolio

Artist Statement

 

My entry into the conceptual art field was marked by criticizing the role of modern man in capitalist society. In my subsequent artworks, I have considered the main issue of how humans interact with different structures. I have also continued my work in this field with the view of using different mediums to convey the concepts I want and to show the interactive position of human beings concerning various issues related to human life.
The main conception of my art is to show and criticize the structures that somehow keep the man of his freedom, turn him into a predictable being, and impose enclosed and unoriginal ideologies on him that act as a vaccine that deprives him of true freedom. It’s all like the capitalist, patriarchal system, dogmatic linguistic structures, and its impact on our thoughts and unconscious, which leads contemporary man to concepts such as social alienation. It also causes human inferiority in different categories of society, especially women or immigrants.
In “The Other” performance and installation in the critique of the capitalist system, I used fashion as a symbol of this system. In a symbolic cage, I was doing something aimless and repetitive to show the social alienation of man and others’ domination over him. And also, in another part of it, I dealt with the extreme consumerism of today’s man and its successive impact on the environment.
In my other artwork, Sufficient Framework, I criticized language. Although these are the words that make up the bricks of thought, the expression of problems in the non-verbal realm is also a kind of transcendence of frameworks. In my artworks, by looking at philosophy and psychoanalysis, I have tried to express the anxieties and anomalies imposed on human beings. While examining human beings as sociable beings, I have tried to pay attention to their aspects at the same time.
In my view, man’s awareness of the structures that govern his psyche, thought, and society is the greatest step towards his transcendence. By depicting these structures, and the interactive or passive role of human beings against them, in the first step, I try to use the appropriate materials for each subject and various mediums such as video and performance, of which simplicity and fluency are their basic components. The goal is to engage the audience mentally and sometimes physically with the view that the current situation has been shaped by history and that description and introspection will eventually lead to external influences. And also, to present the works of a special place with a look at the history of art as well as the history of the formation of the structures I have in mind.
In this way, studying the works of prominent philosophers and psychoanalysts such as Lacan and Žižek has helped me a lot in choosing concepts, developing them, and brainstorming about them. Moreover, using different sciences and knowledge such as physics and programming has always been intriguing to me and has helped my vision from idea to implementation.

Enough is Enough

 “Enough is Enough,” challenges our perception of meaning and explores how language can become meaningless through overuse. Typing the phrase “enough is enough” becomes a sarcastic act that highlights how repetition can shape our physical experiences and affect our psyche. It examines the tendency we have to repeat things we want to end, such as …

Handmade Otherness

Throughout the series of photos, I establish a conversation between myself and my self-created depression. This conversation delves into the complexities of my psyche, blurring the lines between what is real and what is driven by my emotions. My intent to complete and understand my depression is evident, as I seek to establish a connection …

In Between

We are going to stay in the state of Not-Yet; Forever in between. Despite the apparent desperation and the imminent threat of separation, the rope never fully cuts. While the mind may feel on the verge of breaking, there is always a lingering connection that keeps the fragments together. where healing may not occur, but …

Every Photo I Took

The installation consists of a paper shredder suspended in mid-action, poised to shred a roll of paper. However, the shredder remains dormant, frozen in time, revealing a suspended roll of paper cascading down from the wall. The roll of paper is adorned with a meticulously printed series of dates. These dates encapsulate the precise moments …

Departure

Departure is not only limited to the physical transfer of human beings from one place to another but also has a broader definition.

Sufficient Framework

In today’s world, many media and events meet our “need for entertainment”

The Other

The Other is an installation and performance on criticizing the role of contemporary man in capitalist society.

Walking: Two, in three steps

Every so often, as our walks go on for extended periods of time, we soon forget about the physical motion of our legs.