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The Big Black Bird

Nickle Galleries, Calgary, Canada, 2014

The Big Black Bird is a stop-motion animation and is comprised of 400 portraits of the artist (taken by Jean-Rene Leblanc) with a black scarf. The scarf flies above and around my head and sometimes sits on my head, like a black bird. The scarf takes on different shapes and sizes and in the end falls down on my head and covers my face completely. I wanted to create a living and active character with this piece of fabric while I was sitting passively, barely moving or reacting. The Big Black Bird addresses the role of Iranian women through the history of veiling, unveiling and re-veiling.