No.2 from Mirror Garden series, Stroll Inside Kashan carpet- digital print on Plexiglas, mirror& Kashan carpet, - 100x70 cm- 2013.
Tabari Artspace Dubai Gallery presented Mirror Garden, an exhibition of artworks by Samira Alikhanzadeh. Alikhanzadeh was born in Iran in 1967. She pursued her undergraduate studies in painting at Azad University and later obtained a Masters in Fine Art.
Initially, her early works predominantly focused on windows and explored the interplay of light within interior spaces when filtered through glass. However, a fortuitous discovery of old family photographs prompted a shift in her artistic direction. Alikhanzadeh's images are digitally printed on wooden boards and subsequently enhanced with acrylic paint. Recent pieces have focused primarily on individuals, particularly women and children. Notably, the series on view incorporated mirror fragments extensively. This medium playfully invites viewers to immerse themselves in the artwork, encouraging contemplation of their own identity, existence, mortality, and gender.
The exhibition takes its title from Ahmad Shamlou's book, "Mirror Garden":
"I position a mirror in front of your reflection, transforming you into eternity."
"I have not grown weary of wandering through the enchanting Mirror Garden. I yearn for an excuse to introduce you to my world of creations by placing a mirror before you. This justification can manifest as my own image or that of a young girl set against a backdrop of intricately designed Persian carpets. It could be a painting from centuries past or a bold abstraction of our contemporary and historical world. Regardless, we have the ability to venture through the mirrors into an alternate realm, experiencing the passage of time in a distinct manner—an obsession that I believe will persist within me for the foreseeable future."
Mirror Garden I place a mirror against your mirror To make eternity out of you From the book “Mirror Garden” by Ahmad Shamlou “I’m not tired of strolling in the Garden of Mirrors yet. I still crave to find an excuse to place a mirror in front of you and to invite you into the world of my works. It doesn’t matter; the excuse can be my own image or an image of a little girl with a back ground of a beautifully designed and patterned carpet; a Persian painting from centuries ago or a complete and frank abstraction of our world of today and yesterdays. In any case, I can, we can travel through the mirrors into another world and to have a different experience of the “ Time Passing“; an obsession I feel won’t be leaving me any time soon.”