News & Press
It is a true honor to have my exhibition, Inquiry about Forgotten Birds, shortlisted for the 2024 GOG Awards. My sincere thanks to AWE for their support and for this opportunity to bring my work to a broader audience.
The story of the piece "Women of Iran" has been narrated in Switzerland recently by the author Pierre Rouyer.
Along with Maryam’s tablet, this artwork is featured in the religious calendar given by AGORA. I appreciate your interest and support.
Originally written in French, the article is now available in English below:
English translation:
Of fabric, ink and prayers
In her workshop in Windsor, in the Canadian province of Ontario, Tina Rouhandeh keeps two tools at hand, a small pair of scissors decorated with carvings and a penknife with an always sharp blade. The first is used to cut cotton threads, the second to cut reeds to make calamus for calligraphy.
Born in Tehran in 1977, Tina Rouhandeh left Iran in 2005. She is from the generation that grew up with the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Her textile works combine weaving and embroidery, sometimes calligraphy, to pay tribute to those persecuted by the Iranian regime. On the loom, then at the table where she works with the needle or calamus, Tina Rouhandey, says that, as a Baha’i, she is “inspired by an ideal of universal peace and unity”.
The founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Baháʼu'lláh (1817-1892), wrote that "the Word of God (...) when it manifests itself in the mirror of the hearts of artists, gives birth to new and unique arts.” If strictly speaking there is no Baha'i art, at least not yet, art nonetheless remains "a gift of the Holy Spirit", in the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha, known as the Servant of God (1844-1921).
In 2018, Tina Rouhandeh began a series entitled “Inquiry about Forgotten Birds” which, according to her, is “a collection of human rights violations in Iran”. Each work includes thousands of stitches that represent people persecuted by the regime and the prayers that may be dedicated to them. One of these works is entitled “Knots and narratives (Kharavan)”, named after the cemetery in Tehran where hundreds of murdered opponents lie in mass graves. To contemplate it, is to reflect in front of the very place of their burial and to remember the injustice of their persecution.
“Women of Iran”, all in indigo-colored thread, features the names embroidered in Latin characters of twenty-four Iranian women who risked and sometimes lost their lives in the name of their Faith. One example is the poet, scholar, Baha’i, and women’s rights advocate, Táhirih (1817-1852) considered as an incarnation of purity by Baháʼu'lláh. Before her execution she declared: "You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women."Or Mona Mahmudnizhad (1965-1983) who, with nine other Baha'i women, was hanged in Shiraz, for the sole reason of having refused to renounce her faith. In a notebook, Tina Rouhandeh has recorded the names of more than 1,500 women persecuted in Iran; almost every day she adds a new one.
Tina Rouhandeh’s work communicated with a breadth and depth in so many formats. One of its sources of inspiration is found in the numerous texts of Baháʼu'lláh, considered by Bahá'ís to be sacred revelations. Whether it’s the Persian calligraphy in her textile works, linking weaving and writing; or the use of calligraphy classic in form, and on paper that she sometimes makes herself. There are poems, prayers, poetry decorated with illuminations painted with gouache and gold leaf. The source and its expression weave through her fingers and illuminate what she touches. END
Picture captions
• Big picture
Weaving against oblivion
Woven or calligraphed, all of the work of Iranian artist Tina Rouhandeh refers to her original land and culture, either to evoke the fate of people persecuted by the current dictatorial regime, or to transmit writings of Baha'i spirituality. In this work entitled “Women of Iran”, Tina Rouhandeh inserted the names of women imprisoned or executed. Her work was recognized in 2019 during a solo exhibition entitled “Scribe and Stitch”; it is now part of the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, Canada.
Women of Iran, detail, 2022, 122 cm x 152 cm. Photo: Justin Elliot
• Small picture
Letters to Maryam
Tina Rouhandeh was introduced to Persian calligraphy at the age of 18. On these two sheets, she has taken a few lines from the letters – or tablets – that Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote since his exile in Iraq to Maryam, a close relative and disciple. The thousands of texts written in arabic and persian by Baháʼu'lláh mainly include mystical writings, ethical teachings, as well as laws and spiritual principles.
Photo: Coll. Tina Rouhandeh
Photo:📸Talented artist @jel_media
”Inquiry about Forgotten Birds “ at Art Windsor-Essex Gallery June 13, 2023 - October 1, 2023
”Inquiry about Forgotten Birds “ at Art Windsor-Essex Gallery June 13, 2023 - October 1, 2023
”Inquiry about Forgotten Birds “ at Art Windsor-Essex GalleryJune 13, 2023 - October 1, 2023
https://artwindsoressex.ca/exhibitions-displays/?etype=upcoming
Grant & Award
I'm so honored and thankful to be the recipient of the Lois Smedick Emerging Artist in Visual Arts Grant by Windsor Endowment for the Arts (WEA),for the “ Inquiry about Forgotten Birds ” Project.
Inquiry about Forgotten Birds is the outcome of three years of experiments with fabric and hand stitches, calligraphy, and hand weaving to connect a traditional art form to contemporary art that tells the story of the persecuted people in my homeland Iran."
This grant is going to assist me and take me one step closer to complete my project . I Would Like To Thank Windsor Endowment for the Arts (WEA),to provide support for my personal and professional development.
May 2022
Royal Ontario Museum Collection
I’m so pleased that my work titled:" Self Portrait 1-Kids of My Generation ", is now part of the Royal Ontario Museum textile collection.
CBC Radio
Interview about “Inquiry about Forgotten Birds “ Collection by Josiah Sinanan · CBC News :Iranian calligrapher uses ancient art to tell story of persecuted Baha'i at new Windsor show :https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/iranian-calligrapher-uses-ancient-art-to-tell-story-of-persecuted-baha-i-at-new-windsor-show-1.6343680
Afternoon Drive with Chris dela Torre on CBC Radio
At 4:48: #Calligraphy and scribing are how Tina Rouhandeh tells a story. We'll speak to @artcite Windsor's current artist-in-residence. http://cbc.ca/listen
Artist in Residence
I'm pleased to announce that I've been selected for this year's BIPOC Artist in Residence by @artciteinc .
The residency runs from February 2nd - March 2nd ,2022.
Solo Exhibition Title: «Knots & Narratives »
“عنوان : “گره ها و روایتها
More Information @Instagram Page
Https://Www.Instagram.Com/Tinarouhandeh/
Window Pop-Up Solo Exhibition
Title :“Inquiry about Forgotten Birds” ,Dec13-27,2020.
”پرس و جو درباره پرندگان فراموش شده “
This collection dedicated to the prisoners of Iran.
Live Performance will be on Instagram Page During Exhibition :
https://www.instagram.com/tinarouhandeh/
My solo mixed media exhibition, “Scribe & Stitch” has been extended until April 20th,2019.
Visit Queen Gallery during gallery hours (3:30-7:30 pm,on Tuesday to Saturday).
April 2019
Exhibition:
Title :Scribe & Stitch “کاتب و کوک”
Solo Mixed Media Exhibition 2019 ,Queen Gallery ,Toronto ,Canada
April 3 to 13 ,2019
Opening Reception:Friday Night ,April 5 ,2019 from 7pm to 9pm
Grant & Awards:
I am so honored and thankful to be the recipient of the Exhibition Assistace Grant for my “Scribe & Stitch” project.
This exhibition represents a valuable next step for my artistic practice in that it will be the first time my work will be shown in Toronto. Scribe and Stitches” is a 20-piece collection of my recent work studying the relationship between Persian Calligraphy and contemporary fiber art. This work is a continuation of recent thematic explorations in the presence of the artist’s hand in both calligraphy and fiber art. “Scribe and Stitches” comprises of numerous wall hanging work, ranging in medium from paper and ink, to fabric, handmade paper and hand stitched pieces. Some of the work is inspired by a traditional, meditative style of writing calligraphy called “black practice” or “Siyáh Mashq.” This practice results in years worth of handwritten pieces that were completely improvised and unrehearsed, during which I was perfecting each letter, and refining each word and how they connect together.
This grant is going to assist me and take me one step closer to my career goals. I would like to thank Ontario Arts Council (OAC) to provide support for my personal and professional development.
January ,2019
