Becoming, 2015
Video installation (3 single-channel videos) and fiberglass sphere
100 cm (sphere diameter), overall dimensions variable
Ed. 3/5 of an edition of 5 + 1 AP
[Photo: Francesco Allegretto. Courtesy Morteza Ahmadvand]
Morteza Ahmadvand’s research ponders the possible coexistence between cultures and the need to do away with distinctions and hierarchies between populations and human beings.
Becoming consists of three videos projected on just as many screens, each of which shows one of the three symbols of the principal Abrahamic faiths: the Christian Cross, the Star of David, and the Cube representing the Islamic Kaaba. The three symbols slowly revolve until they are transformed into the same shape, a sphere, that is identical to the one in fiberglass, placed on the ground at the center of the space circumscribed by the screens. The sphere refers to the planet Earth that should welcome all living beings, without distinction in terms of sex, race, language, or religion. Becoming thus aims to encourage the coexistence between cultures and the achievement of unity amidst today’s political-cultural upheaval. On the occasion of the 2019 Venice Biennale, Becoming was displayed as part of the exhibition THE SPARK IS YOU: Parasol unit in Venice hosted by the Conservatory of Music “Benedetto Marcello.”
Born in Khorramabad, Iran, Morteza Ahmadvand works and lives in Tehran. He is a multimedia artist and filmmaker, and he holds an MA from Tehran University. His video pieces speak about freedom and generational changes. Ahmadvand’s career started in painting and traces of his painterly gestures can be observed in his videos as they possess characteristics which allude to painting. He has participated in a number of solo exhibitions in galleries and museums, including Becoming, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, 2018; To become, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, 2014; Regards Persans, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris, 2013; Video Installation Exhibition, Etemad Gallery, Tehran, 2011; Painting Exhibition and The Visual Art Gallery, University of Tehran, Tehran, 2009.