Zanbagh Lotfi's Memory Vague: Autobiography and Iranian History Intertwined
Zanbagh Lotfi (Tehran, 1976) presents a series of six paintings that form a single narrative work, blending personal memories with Iran's collective history. The series, titled "Memory Vague" (2015-16), uses childhood birthday photographs as a starting point, overlaying them with references to the 1979 revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, and political executions. Lotfi employs vibrant colors and layered compositions, incorporating objects like ceramic hand grenades that replicate piggy banks given to schoolchildren to collect money for soldiers. The work explores the intersection of individual and collective memory, inviting viewers to reconstruct their own stories from the fragments. Christian Caliandro reviews the exhibition at Marcorossi Artecontemporanea, praising Lotfi's ability to fuse autobiography with history in a way that is rare in contemporary Italian art.
Key facts
- Zanbagh Lotfi was born in Tehran in 1976.
- The series 'Memory Vague' was created in 2015-16.
- The paintings use childhood birthday photos as a pretext.
- The work references the 1979 Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war.
- Lotfi mentions 12,000-15,000 executions of political prisoners after the revolution.
- Ceramic hand grenades in the exhibition replicate piggy banks for soldiers.
- The series is composed of six paintings forming a single narrative.
- Christian Caliandro reviewed the exhibition for Artribune.
Entities
Artists
- Zanbagh Lotfi
- Christian Caliandro
Institutions
- Marcorossi Artecontemporanea
- Artribune
Locations
- Teheran
- Iran