The title of the project is a word common in Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, and Hindi, meaning “cure” and “treatment.’ “ilâj” exhibition is part of a wider idea focusing on eastern myths, rituals, theology, and literature and how they can influence our way of thinking about life and our experiences in this region throughout history.

Three artists are engaging with either local or international issues like consumerism, petrification, and violence, influenced by being first, the citizen of the Middle East and then the citizen of the planet earth, trying to reflect those experiences through their art. The culmination of an observation through eastern myths and rituals of my homeland and the region, resulted in the idea that art can be a metaphor to those medical/holistic rituals that leads to a physical and mental redemption.

The East has been struggling with lots of issues for a long time; yet, it is a great muse of any remedy resulting in serenity. Iran, as one of the oldest and most fruitful parts of this region and culture, serves truth-seekers with an array of stories where they can dig for more knowledge: the cure. Reading myths and knowing more about ancient scripts and practicing rituals is a form of returning to roots as a form of knowing oneself. The “ilâj” project shows how different approaches of respond, awareness, observation, and reflection will act as a diagnosis that can lead to serenity. What “ilâj” claims is that the artist, whether as a scholar or as a person in pain, is capable of starting such journey through well-being and placidity, both for themselves and the audience.

Sadra Wejdani is a multi-output artist who is responding to his surroundings through different actions; whether as a form of art or social/ environmental activities.

Sara Ghods is a multi-disciplinary artist who is fascinated by mythology, semiotics, human behavior, and nature. She astonishes her audience by representing a process towards awareness.

With a critical viewpoint to his surroundings, Hamed Jaberha sympathetically observes and captures history, politics, and philosophy. He addresses these issues through his art with expressiveness.

Ilâj is a process. Serenity is a process. Every person/ society in pain will realize at some point that “something is wrong:’ It starts with an alarm: an alarm for survival. This is the beginning of a struggle to find the cure: redemption from pain and suffering. Awareness is the beginning of the “ilâj” process. The question is what kind of a world does this open up to: a world where we suffer no more, or where we find the cure to all this pain?

Participating Artists

Hamed Jaberha

Sadra Wejdani

Sara Ghods