Maryam Taghavi Explores the Occult and Sigils at MCA Chicago
Maryam Taghavi's practice investigates unseen worlds through language's building blocks, focusing on talismans, sigils, and the occult. In her exhibition 'Chicago Works' at MCA Chicago, she examines optical relationships and perception. The show features a noghte—a diacritic in Arabic and Persian—used as a unit of measurement in calligraphy but repurposed to explore immeasurable feelings. A prism hidden in a wall creates infinite reflections, while a commissioned poem by Saadi Shīrāzī has all noghtes removed, making it laborious to read and highlighting absence. Taghavi's work challenges legibility and familiarity, drawing from Iranian culture and her fascination with the unseen.
Key facts
- Maryam Taghavi's practice focuses on the occult, talismans, and sigils.
- Her exhibition 'Chicago Works' is at MCA Chicago.
- The exhibition explores optical relationships and perception.
- A noghte is a diacritic in Arabic and Persian used for pronunciation.
- Taghavi uses noghtes to illustrate relational measurement and immeasurable feelings.
- A prism hidden in a wall creates infinite reflections of a noghte form.
- A commissioned poem by 13th-century Persian poet Saadi Shīrāzī has all noghtes removed.
- The poem's removal of noghtes makes it difficult to read, emphasizing familiarity.
- Taghavi's work references Iranian culture and growing up in the 1980s.
- The exhibition includes a Horizon series inspired by Lake Michigan.
Entities
Artists
- Maryam Taghavi
- Saadi Shīrāzī
Institutions
- MCA Chicago
- Canvas
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- Lake Michigan