Simultaneously provocative, humorous, and disturbing, Tala Madani’s paintings, drawings, and stop-motion animations create alternate realities that have surprising parallels with our own. Born and raised in Tehran and based in Los Angeles, Madani makes work that offers a critical lens through which to consider themes such as patriarchy and xenophobia, informed by the sociopolitical contexts of Iran and the United States but specific to neither. Political cartoons and medieval art are among her references.
This installation comprises five of the artist’s early stop-motion animations. They are populated by bald, middle-aged men who face humiliating and violent setbacks. To create a single minute of video, Madani paints almost 2,500 images in sequence on a single canvas or piece of wood, recording the process with a camera, frame by frame. Brief in length and looped, the videos endlessly cycle through moments of hope and abjection, underscoring their existential and absurdist themes.
Please note: some of the animations on view in this gallery include depictions of violence.
Organized by May Makki, former Curatorial Assistant, Department of Media and Performance, and Abby Hermosilla, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Curatorial Affairs
