An exhibition and installation art project ‘I Seek Help from People’ by Saber Abar, actor and theater director, is on show at Tehran’s Mohsen Art Gallery.
The event includes installation art and a performance on the “plight of missing people in the 1960s”, Honaronline reported.
In the early 1960s, Imam Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, first came into political prominence. Following his arrest on June 5, 1963, by the Shah’s regime three days of major riots erupted throughout Iran. Nearly 15,000 people were killed and thousands went missing.
Abar performed for 12 hours in a glass booth on the first day. Along with Pantea Panahiha, theater and cinema actress, the performance was silent, “to convey the anxious state of being lost, through physical gestures and use of objects.”
“We improvise the show. Actually our physical actions are not preplanned. We perform according to the audience’s reaction and feedback,” Abar said.
In addition to the show, over 1,800 ads of missing people, published in newspapers of the 1960s are showcased, giving the viewers a personal dimension of loss.
A part of the exhibition shows 40 missing people’s posters pasted on wallpapers. In addition, a separate room is dedicated to 30 glass boxes, each bearing an object and a statement explaining it. “I chose different old objects to put inside the boxes based on the inspiration each gave me.”
The glass boxes are for sale and the proceeds will be donated to charity, Abar added.
As an additional program, a short film featuring the emotional challenges of a couple awaiting their missing one is on show.
All parts of the exhibition, including poster show, performance, glass box installation and the short film aim at displaying different dimensions of being lost, a concept which has been worked on frequently by various artists using art or documentary mediums.
Abar, 31, is best known for his role in ‘About Elly’. He was nominated for two Crystal Simorgh Prizes, both for Best Supporting Actor at the 25th and 27th Fajr International Film Festival.
The installation and performance art collection will be on view through August 10.
