Dr. Azadeh Fatehrad
The Whispers of the Garden (2018) is a two-channel documentary-fiction moving image produced at the historical gardens of the Bois des Moutiers estate, France (1898). Through a poetic sequence, the film moves between the documentary, analytical and personal to reveal the rich history behind the gardens listed as a Monument historique (historical monument) and Jardin remarquable (Remarkable Garden of France). For the artist, Azadeh Fatehrad, the Bois des Moutiers gardens are beyond the typical understanding of a garden. Indeed, they lie at the intersection between Western and Eastern philosophies and, in this way, there is a constant duality in the layout of the gardens – their structure, as well as the ornaments and architecture found in them. The Whispers of the Garden reflects on the complex co-existence of materiality and spiritual life; transcendental emancipation and lavish libidinal joy; a hidden shelter and an exposed display case; the splendid lightness of days and the deadly deep darkness of nights; chaotic wild nature and the formality of lined plants; and the temporality of figures and the permanency of patterns evident at Bois des Moutiers. Fatehrad has adopted a cross-cultural approach to this historical research, looking at the artistic and aesthetic implications of Bois des Moutiers and their relation to our life today.
Dr. Azadeh Fatehrad is an artist and curator based in London, working in the context of historical representation. Fatehrad’s research, artistic and curatorial practice are intertwined around a process of gathering information and generating new imagery in response to archival material she discovers. Her practice ranges from still and moving images to fictional stories, short films and artist books which have been exhibited internationally at the Royal Academy of Art (London), Somerset House (London), Weltkulturen Museum (Frankfurt am Main), Index: The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation (Stockholm), Lychee One Gallery (London) and The Barn Gallery (Oxford), among others. Fatehrad has received her practice-based PhD from the Royal College of Art (2016) and has conducted diverse projects across Europe and the Middle East, including at the Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main, the International Institute of Social History (IISH), Amsterdam, AFDI Archiv für Forschung und Dokumentation Iran Berlin eV,Berlin, and the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies (IICHS), Tehran. Her projects have been positively covered by the likes of the New York Times and Financial Times, CNN, Euronews, the Guardian, and the British Journal of Photography, among others. Fatehrad is co-founder of ‘Herstoriographies: The Feminist Media Archive Research Network’ in London and she is on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden.
www.azadehfatehrad.com
Insta: @azadehfatehrad
Twitter: @azadehfatehrad