2013-10-26 05:30 Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective Page 1 sur 7 http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/ SEARCH PARTICIPATE WORK LEARN ART FOOD ABOUT Interview by Caique Tizzi Interview by Caique Tizzi Photographs by Pedro Jardim Photographs by Pedro Jardim AGORA ART COLLECTIVE We are a small group of artists and thinkers coming from many disciplines and backgrounds. While we retain a small, core group from project to project, we are constantly inviting new members to meet the challenges of new projects. CURRENT EXHIBITIONS Tillmann Lange: “First Floor Occupation” SPEAK TO Caique Tizzi or Marcela Donato EXHIBITIONS / INTERVIEWS / RESIDENCY Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski
Transcript
2013-10-26 05:30Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective
Page 1 sur 7http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/
SEARCH
PARTICIPATE WORK LEARN ART FOOD ABOUT
Interview by Caique TizziInterview by Caique Tizzi
Photographs by Pedro JardimPhotographs by Pedro Jardim
AGORA ART COLLECTIVE
We are a small group of artists and thinkerscoming from many disciplines and backgrounds.While we retain a small, core group from project toproject, we are constantly inviting new members tomeet the challenges of new projects.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Tillmann Lange: “First Floor
Occupation”
SPEAK TO
Caique Tizzi
or
Marcela Donato
EXHIBITIONS / INTERVIEWS / RESIDENCY
Interview with artists in residency: SayehSarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski
2013-10-26 05:30Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective
Page 2 sur 7http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/
Caique: You are both quite active in your home base – Sayeh is represented byCaique: You are both quite active in your home base – Sayeh is represented by
Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran in Montreal and Virginie is involved in manyGalerie Antoine Ertaskiran in Montreal and Virginie is involved in many
initiatives, such as the artists run center PVPP in Al levard – why did you takeinitiatives, such as the artists run center PVPP in Al levard – why did you take
the decision to work in Berl in, special ly in the framework proposed at Agora?the decision to work in Berl in, special ly in the framework proposed at Agora?
Sayeh:Sayeh: Berlin is a city that compiles a large number of contemporary artists, it’s an
extremely rich and creative environment. This environment allows me to connect easily to
a new culture and I am looking forward to meeting new spectators for my work, and to see
who actually offers a new perspective for my work and I find it always valuable.
Agora presented this collaborative frame and I find great the possibility to exchange with
some other artist and enrich my process from this experience.
Virginie:Virginie: The collaborative work interests me for the same reason, it just adds to your
own practice. And Berlin is a cultural place, full of resources to create. My work is always
in situ and this city provides many possibilities to be explored.
2013-10-26 05:30Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective
Page 3 sur 7http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/
C. Sayeh, your practice has a strong pol i tical and social engagement and youC. Sayeh, your practice has a strong pol i tical and social engagement and you
use very specific symbols to refer to those issues. What in Berl in can activateuse very specific symbols to refer to those issues. What in Berl in can activate
and create new layers about the specific questions you raise?and create new layers about the specific questions you raise?
S. My work is inspired by the political events of my country of origin, Iran, I am using this
residency in Berlin for a better understanding of the political context for the arts here in
Berlin. For me is always interesting to try to search for the dialogues and similarities
between the place I am and the place I came from. It’s also very important to me the
history of the passengers between Germany and Iran, and we live in our collective memory
both in Iran and here the period of dictatorship, censorship and repression but in very
different ways.
I grew up in an islamic environment and here it’s another…but also a dictatorship and it’s
very interesting for me to analyse how the artists live and produce and raise their
questions in this specific context and I am trying to connect my work with these matters.
2013-10-26 05:30Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective
Page 4 sur 7http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/
C. Do you think what instigates you with your practice can be addressedC. Do you think what instigates you with your practice can be addressed
universal ly?universal ly?
S. Yes, I think many people in the world experience “dictatorship” in different levels. I think
that the reason my work can touch other people, from other nationalities is the fact that it
relates to our collective memory…it’s important to realize how people interact and treat
each other in our society, we can not be insensible towards that.
That’s also the reason why I use for my work “ready-made” objects, I often use Lego pieces
on my work and it’s super universal. Every child from everywhere saw Lego, that’s a way to
connect with the spectator…
C. Virginie, you have a diverse and multidiscipl inary practice, no matter whatC. Virginie, you have a diverse and multidiscipl inary practice, no matter what
media you choose to work there is always a very clear proposition, related tomedia you choose to work there is always a very clear proposition, related to
the spaces you occupy. Can you explain to us your process and what are yourthe spaces you occupy. Can you explain to us your process and what are your
first impressions here in Berl in? How do you think your work can be unfoldedfirst impressions here in Berl in? How do you think your work can be unfolded
in this specific context of Berl in?in this specific context of Berl in?
V. Indeed, my work is always contextualized in the place I am, that’s why I always like to
work in a new place, the somewhere else means always new work to me. All the rooms, the
cities and spaces where I am become a work space, I don’t have a personal space to work, I
work everywhere. When I am somewhere I try to forget everything I know about the place,
what I learned and what people told me about it. I wonder, I start building stories, looking
at small details, it’s a challenge because every existence is a projection and we have an
idea of everything and a certain consciousness. When we put yourself somewhere there
are always things and we are always connecting things from what we have in our
memories and I work trying to forget these things. They are what they are. Simply.I am an
archaeologist.
And here in Berlin, it’s a place with a lot of history, my parents are polish so I can relate a
lot to it, these traces of western and eastern worlds all mixed.. Berlin relates to me very
personally, but I don’t even talk about it and I just feel it, look at people and collect things. I
always say that it feels like being an extra-terrestrial, you arrive and that’s what it is and
that’s how I like to work. As Paul Valerie says “all the past is here”. So with this premise in
2013-10-26 05:30Interview with artists in residency: Sayeh Sarfaraz and Virginie Piotrowski | Agora Collective
Page 5 sur 7http://agoracollective.org/blog/interview-artists-residency-sayeh-sarfaraz-virginie-piotrowski/
mind I create here with Sayeh an installation that is an image of our minds and
perception. It´s nice because we share the same language, same codes but different ways
to work.
Berlin is very difficult to get, there are lots of things at the same time, the project is about
capturing all these particularities of the city.
C. You both have just arrived to start your col laborative residency at Agora.C. You both have just arrived to start your col laborative residency at Agora.
Where do you think your practices overlap? What are the strategies of work youWhere do you think your practices overlap? What are the strategies of work you
are using to conceptual ize the final project? What are the chal lenges of thisare using to conceptual ize the final project? What are the chal lenges of this
work?work?
S. We both studied at the french school, so our codes, visual vocabularies are very similar.
In France, the art school teach us how to be sensible to things and your surrounding and
how society is affected. The first point we overlap is that we both share the same way to
look at society, and the other point is that our ways to express it are quite close, we are
both working with installations, maps, connecting different references through these
forms.
V. But for me when you make an installation you are in the space, but when you draw a
map, you are out, you overview it…you create a distance with the world. But we explain
together our world with a distance. And the way Sayeh works with small scale, it´s in
between installation and drawing. I am really happy to share this vision and this work with
