Lot 125: * W FARHAD MOSHIRI (Iran, born 1963) We The Roses

Farhad Moshiri (Iran, born 1963)
We The Roses
hand embroidered beads, sequins and knives on canvas
executed in 2012
212 x 212cm (83 7/16 x 83 7/16in).
FOOTNOTES
'As an artist using candy I can't always make candy ideas. Sometimes I even push myself, intentionally, to create an interesting contrast... a collision of pleasurable materials and something a little darker...'
- Farhad Moshiri in conversation with Nima Sagharchi

Exhibited:
Hong Kong, Galerie Perrotin, Farhad Moshiri: Fire of Joy, 2012

Published:
Galerie Perrotin, Exhibition Catalog: Farhad Moshiri: Fire of Joy, 2012

Over the past decade, Iranian-born artist Farhad Moshiri has developed his practice to combine Western and Middle Eastern formal styles, imagery and themes in creating some of the most iconic Pop art of recent times. His works seduce the viewer with their calculatedly-seductive themes and knowingly brash and flashy visual metaphors.

Yet, slice through the dense whorls and swirls of candy-colours, diamante motifs, fizzling textures and cheery celebrations of indulgence and decadence and Moshiri's deeper concerns become apparent. In his art, he subtly decries consumer culture, the garish absurdity of mindless decadence and the cheaply unctuous tawdriness of contemporary luxury as Eastern and Western cultures and signifiers collide in sparkling juxtaposition.

Pop art, Persian symbolism, American TV mythology, garish colours coalesce into create a deceptively dark, ironic commentary about contemporary society's need to lose itself in an artificially-sweetened morass of self-deception. Moshiri says that his work is often misunderstood and consumed as superficially as the subjects he is setting out to critique, the edge to his satire and wit almost overwhelmed by the intense sugar-rush of his compositions.

"We The Roses" emerges from a particularly fecund period in the artist's career, moving away from his early preoccupation with medieval Persian "jar" compositions, Moshiri wholeheartedly embraced a unique blend of kitsch and satire characteristic of much of his latter artistic output. Innovative and tactile use of media are prevalent in Moshiri's work: embroidery, cake making equipment, crystals and in the present work knives all embellish Moshiri's work augmenting the flamboyant aesthetic that the artist is aiming to achieve.

Moshiri's use of knives in his compositions to spell out various phrases and lyrics sampled from contemporary pop culture is a particularly visceral visual tool; ultimately rooted in the domestic setting, Moshiri's knives are common, familiar utensils, and serve as a powerful symbol of the sinister undercurrents that subvert "domestic bliss".

The present piece is particularly noteworthy as it presents an amalgamation of mediums which Moshiri does not regularly combine; in this case the concoction of embroidery, glitter and knives. Even more significant is the presence of Moshiri's signature "inner child" or child-like self-portrait in the composition which whilst providing a sense of youthful wonder, also sees its innocence challenged by the overall violence of the composition.

Commenting on the prevalence of childlike portraiture in his works, Moshiri notes that "these images are self-portraits, I see myself in them, I see myself doing things that were ridiculous, especially as a child. These kind of awkward, childish activities are essentially self-portraits. In some ways all my works are self-portraits and I would go so far as to say that most works that artists do are self-portraits".