- Artist Statement, Transcript
- Artist biography, Transcript
- Tactile Object List, Transcript
- Creative Access Tour, Transcript
Artist Statement
Moozhan Ahmadzadegan is an artist based on the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan People, also known as Kelowna, BC. His artistic interests center on themes of queer culture, Iranian diaspora, and cultural in-betweenness. This spectrum of ideas serve as a point of access to deepen his understanding of contemporary social issues. Moozhan’s practice encompasses painting, screenprinting, textiles, and installation practices. Through these mediums, he investigates how we respond and engage with the colonial social and cultural structures that shape identity on personal, national, and public scales.
In his exhibition, there hidden, far beneath and long ago, he examines traditional Iranian art such as Persian miniatures, patterns, rugs, architecture, and poetry, and reimagines them through a queer lens. This approach symbolically carves out space for queer narratives within historically heteronormative frameworks, addressing the erasure of queer identities in various contexts. These themes resonate with the increased condemnation of queer people felt globally, including within his immediate community, in so-called Canada, and by the present government of Iran—the contemporary source of his influences.
By queering traditional Persian visuals and narratives, Moozhan reinterprets, reimagines, and reconfigures these elements to create new meanings and queer-inspired narratives. Persian carpets are reimagined through the interplay of materials, contradicting a carpet’s original intentions. A carpet is wall mounted, scaled down through printmaking, and its tassels elongated with 15’ rope. With no set meaning, these objects offer the potential for new narratives. As designer and architect Jaffer Kolb describes it “[queerness is] an open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances, resonances, lapses, and excesses of meaning” (Pavka). With that in mind, Moozhan attempts to disrupt these traditional art forms and bring them into a contemporary context. there hidden, far beneath and long ago emphasizes creative play and experimentation, allowing Moozhan to move away from overtly literal interpretations and embrace fluidity. His work serves as an entry point for exploring critical dialogues surrounding queer identity, diaspora, and cultural hybridity. Through this approach, he invites viewers to engage with these themes in nuanced and open ways.
Citations:
Pavka, Evan. “What Do We Mean By Queer Space?” Azure Magazine, 29 June 2020, https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/what-do-we-mean-by-queer-space/
Acknowledgements:
I am grateful for the opportunity to work, play and create on the lands that have been tended to by the people of Sylix Okanagan Nation and to present this artwork as a guest on the lands of the xʔməΘḵʷəỵəm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̣wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Artist Bio
Moozhan Ahmadzadegan is an emerging artist based on the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan people, commonly known as the Okanagan. He received a BFA from the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a Major in Visual Arts and a Minor in Art History and Visual Culture in 2019. His work explores Iranian diasporic and queer themes, most often engaging the mediums of painting, screenprinting, textiles, and more recently installation practices.
Tactile Object (welcome station)
Note: a laminated PDF in gallery of this transcript is also available.
Tactile Objects:
2D Site Map
3D Dollhouse Gallery Map
Tactile Arabesque Patterns:
The following patterns appear in quilt-like squares on the large mounted and standing sculptures. The artist has also supplied one of the prints installed on the wall for tactile exploration.
- Pinwheel: A rectangular grid divided into squares, each square divided diagonally into two right triangles, one filled and one empty. They are arranged such that no two triangles of the same “colour” are adjacent.
- Decorative Floral: A rectangular illustration of a cluster of flowers, most of which are roughly star-shaped, connected to stems and leaves that radiate outward in an organic arrangement.
- Geometric: A rectangular illustration consisting of a dense pattern of intersecting heavy lines that zig-zag form a variety of star-shapes and other polygons in an irregular arrangement.
- Decorative Interlocking Vines: A rectangular illustration consisting of rows of quatrefoil/clover-shaped forms placed adjacent to one another to create a chain link-like pattern.
Carpet Series Screenprint Pattern: This pattern appears on top of the panels mounted on the east wall.
A rectangular black and white illustration reminiscent of a decorative rug. Patterns are arranged in two concentric rectangles with a quatrefoil/clover-shaped form in the center. Within these forms, multiple repeating and symmetrical patterns depict flowers, leaves, and similar decorative elements.
The ropes beyond the tactile tape near the middle and east side of the gallery (left of where you entered) can be gently touched. You will need to kneel or bend down to touch them.
Creative Access Audio Tour
Introduction
Welcome to grunt gallery’s creative access audio tour of there hidden, far beneath and long ago, the exhibition project by artist Moozhan Ahmadzadegan. My name is Kay Slater. I am a white, hard-of-hearing, queer settler on these stolen and unceded Coast Salish lands. As the accessibility and exhibitions manager and preparator here at grunt, I assisted in installing this work. I have reviewed this script with both our artist and curator, but any pronunciation errors or cultural misrepresentations are on me. We welcome your feedback as we develop more creative access tools for our gallery and exhibitions.
This tour has four chapters. The fourth chapter is split into seven parts, which allow you to jump back and forth through the exhibition descriptions when listening online or on the gallery’s audio players. The gallery transcript allows you to scrub the complete tour file using timestamps. At the start of each chapter, you will hear the sound of a page-turning:
[Page turning]In Chapter One, I will detail the space and how to enter it and orient yourself in the gallery. In Chapter Two, I’ll describe our welcome station and the objects available for you to use and touch. Chapter Three covers our facilities, washrooms, and C-Care stations. If you’re ready to tour the show, skip to Chapter Four, where I will read the wall didactic and walk you through the show. If you are skipping ahead, be aware that the welcome station has a tactile map to help you navigate this tour. Chapter four is broken up into parts as I move to different artworks in the show. When I move to a new artwork, you will hear this sound of these chimes:
[Wind chimes]Let’s get started with Chapter One.
[Page turning]Chapter 1: Physically Entering the Space
When approaching grunt gallery at 350 East Second Avenue from the accessible drop-off on Great Northern Way, follow the sidewalk to the building’s main entrance. Turn left at the entrance, and you’ll find us at the first exterior door, unit 116. A low-grade ramp leads to our front double doors, with automatic door buttons at waist and ankle level on a post to the right. Be cautious of the small lip at the threshold, which is a potential tripping hazard. Excluding Thursdays, masks are now optional and only recommended indoors at grunt; if you forgot yours, we have extras near the entrance and will not enforce their use outside of Thursdays for low-sensory and voice-off visiting hours.
Welcome to grunt gallery! We are situated on the occupied, stolen, and ancestral territory of the Hul’qumi’num and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, specifically the land of the X’wmuthqueyem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Selilwitulh peoples and families. We are grateful to be here.
The current show features painted works with ropes that dangle and lay on the floor on the left side, and a free-standing sculpture in the far left back corner. A tactile tape runs on the floor to mark any tripping hazards. If you require assistance and are not greeted by staff upon entry, please call for help. Staff are in the office and will assist you as soon as possible. We are always happy to walk the show with you.
The public gallery space is a white cube with 20-foot walls on three sides and a 12-foot south wall that opens 8 feet before reaching the ceiling, providing light to the loft office space beyond. The office is not visible from the gallery, except for a large convex mirror that allows staff to see visitors. A tone rings when people enter the space.
On low-sensory and voice-off Thursdays, a staff member will be available but will not greet you, allowing you to move at your own pace. If you are non-visual, call out for help anytime. If you are sighted, please silently approach a staff member. We have hard-of-hearing staff on site, so a visual wave may be required to get their attention.
[Page turning]Chapter 2: grunt gallery’s welcome station
As you enter the gallery, immediately to the right on the west wall is a sanitization and welcome station. The station is white with black labels in English, high-contrast icons, and some braille labels. There are three open shelves, including the top surface, and the two shelves below can be pulled out towards you. Below that are two closed drawers with d-hook handles.
On top of the welcome station is our gallery spider plant, Comos, who is watered on Wednesdays. The top surface holds a leather-bound guestbook with a black pen, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a box of masks with tongs. A digital tablet lets you browse the exhibition page on our grunt.ca website or access our Big Cartel eCommerce store.
On the first pull-out shelf, on the left, is the exhibition binder with large print information about the space, the show, the artist, a transcript of this tour, and the exhibition map. On the right are a series of tactile objects. Our tactile objects are creative access tools designed to create a point of entry for non-visual, Blind, or partially sighted guests who may wish to experience the work through touch or by bringing the objects close. However, tactile objects are also sensory objects that can be used by sighted folks who wish to feel a connection to the work and those who enjoy or are supported by having objects in their hands to touch.
Here, there is a large multimedia print here to touch. It uses acrylic and gouache paint as well as UV screen-printed images. This tactile object is associated with works that are hung on the wall and in the sculptural installation. The artist shared this print to present the textures used in the sculptures and illustrations. An additional smaller tactile drawing isolates some of the patterns used.
An additional tactile translation of the installed work on the east wall shows the patterns screen printed on the three wall-mounted works, repeated across the 3 panels.
These tactile objects are provided as a sensory point of entry into the works and are not necessarily representative of the work or equivalent to experiencing the works through explorative touch. We do not present these objects assuming that you have never had access to them, but we also do not assume that you have had these experiences. Smell them, hold them, observe them. Use them however you’d like as you engage with the show. This show, in particular, can be touched with a gentle hand, but these objects allow for a close examination and manipulation of details.
On the second pull-out shelf, to the left, are laminated maps of the space. Also within these shelves is a 3D map of the gallery and a flat 2D tactile map of the entire first floor space. Use the tactile maps to follow along with the creative access tour while in gallery. Works are indicated by unique shapes glued to the map with pauses and descriptions with braille markers A through F. You are currently at location A.
To the right of the maps are two Yoto audio players with large, friendly buttons. These players contain this tour and audio of any text within the binder. On the wall to the left of the welcome station is a scannable QR code or tappable NFC tag that links to this audio tour. On Thursdays, the Yoto players are moved to their carrying cases for use with headphones.
Below these are the two closed drawers. The first contains carrying cases with straps for headphones and the Yoto audio devices, allowing hands-free use.
The lowest drawer contains earmuffs for large and small bodies, specifically for those with noise sensitivities.
That concludes the description and tour of the welcome station. In the next chapter, I will tell you about our washrooms and c-care stations. If you prefer to continue with the exhibition tour, skip to Chapter Four.
[Page turning]Chapter 3: The Facility and Amenities
If you need to use the washroom, it’s at the far end of our space. Exit the gallery through the doorway and follow the west wall (to your right when you enter). Pass by the media lab, and when you reach the back wall, take a left and walk through the small kitchenette to our single-room, gender-neutral washroom.
If you’re using the 2D tactile map, the washrooms are located at E.
An automated door button to the right holds the washroom door open for 14 seconds. Inside, to the left of the door, is the lock button, which creates a visual indicator that the washroom is in use. To exit, you can open the door manually or hover your hand over a button above the sink, below the mirror.
Near the exit button is a vertical cubby stack of supplies. Please help yourself to items like hair ties, disposable floss, sanitary napkins, and condoms. This is part of our C-Care program, Community Care for Artist-Run Events.
Speaking of C-Care, we have a tea station in our media lab.
If you’re using the 2D tactile map, the C-Care tea station is at location F also marked by the braille word Table.
During there hidden, far beneath and long ago, this space is a quiet space for reflection and rest. A television installed above is a Satellite Screen of our public and permanent Mount Pleasant Community Art Screen located at the corner of Kingway and Broadway. The screen is a community accessible urban art screen in Mount Pleasant, and you can learn more at mpcas.ca
Also here is a colouring station for people of all ages. Take a pause and a break here before returning to the gallery and continuing the tour.
We now arrive at Chapter Four, where I will begin the exhibition tour next to the welcome station, as if I had just entered the gallery, stepped right to sanitize my hands, and grabbed the tactile map.
[Page turning]Chapter 4: The Exhibition Tour
4A. About the Show
Moozhan shares: “Queer culture and Iranian diasporic themes have been the focus of my practice for the last few years. I do not have specific inquiries, nor do I seek specific answers, but rather I attempt to create a point of access for both myself and the viewer. Playing with these themes has allowed me to deepen my connection to queer culture, my Iranian heritage, and myself. Working with these ideas has also presented opportunities for me to explore interdisciplinary approaches, strengthening my material and conceptual explorations while also embracing experimentation. I am excited by the interplay of materials and the discoveries I have been making in my practice.”
If you’re using the tactile map, we are at location A near the front of the gallery near the entrance.
On the wall behind and above the welcome station is wall didactic text in black vinyl that reads:
there hidden, far beneath and long ago
Moozhan Ahmadzadegan
Curated by Whess Harman
February 20 – April 5, 2025
The show’s title is in lowercase letters.
Within the exhibition binder at the welcome station is the exhibition abstract or artist statement and artist bio, as well as the timestamped transcript of this tour.
Within the space, its walls a neutral gallery white, are two works across 3 walls. The works are bright and colourful, and the shades are up, allowing for natural light to come in from the busy street outside. If you need assistance moving through the space or viewing any work, please feel free to call out for help while on-site or contact a staff member for assistance before arriving in the gallery.
Let us move through the show.
[ Mystical Chimes ]4B. One thing is certain and the rest is lies – west
If you’re using the tactile map, we are moving from the welcome station (A) to location B, facing the west wall.
Following the west wall (left) from the welcome station about 2 metres or 6 feet away is a large, painted pine plywood panel has been installed about 2 feet or 60 cm up from the ground. In the middle and offset a little right is an arched window opening backlit with bright, sugar-drink pink LED lights. The lit cutout creates a soft, glowing halo on the wall behind it. It is playful and striking, 4 feet wide by 7 feet tall or 120 by 220 centimetres work, installed in the centre of an otherwise empty expanse of wall.
This work is part of the installation titled: One thing is certain and the rest is lies.
Moozhan shares: “This architectural shape derives from Persian miniature illustrations, where the scenes are painted with peculiar flatness. I use peculiar to describe them as sometimes they do not often make sense in terms of space, scale and perspective. High horizon lines, lack of vanishing point, and irregular scale contribute to this. With this artwork, I attempted to replicate the flatness of the source material.”
Our curator, Whess Harman, asked Moozhan, “Your work is non-figurative. Is there a particular way you think about that, in terms of referencing Persian miniature?”
Moozhan responded: “Yeah, I don’t. I want to invite viewers into a new world, and whatever that world is is up to them. I don’t want it to be too specific, because I want people to use their imagination and their own interpretation.”
Whess added: “Yeah, I think scaling up the work and making it more of a structural piece also kind of lends to that idea of entryways and entering new spaces.”
By queering these traditional Iranian aesthetics, Moozhan is reimagining Persian visual heritage through a contemporary lens. The radiant pink light, often associated with synthetic, modern materials, contrasts with the historical references embedded in the patterns. The cutout, illuminated yet empty, invites us to consider themes of absence, longing, and the spaces queer identities navigate within cultural histories.
The textures painted can also be experienced using the tactile objects at the welcome station. A light hand can touch this work, but it is installed on the wall by a cleat and not secured for extended tactile exploration.
Whess, our curator, asked Moozhan, “I was just wondering if there’s any significant meaning for each individual pattern or if it’s more like an exploration of using different patterns?”
Moozhan responds: “It’s both so in a lot of these miniatures or Iranian art, very traditional art patterns are very big. So, in architecture, painting, and textiles, you see these patterns quite often. So in these miniatures, specifically, there’s always all these different mixes of patterns on different buildings and clothing that the figures might be wearing. And so I love the mix of all the patterns, and I wanted to really explore that. And a lot of these patterns often have different meanings, but sometimes they are inspired by Islam. For example, where these repeating geometric patterns are ever-expanding and they represent that beauty and that closeness to God. For reference, I am not Muslim, nor is my family, but we come from an Islamic country, so there is a lot of cross-cultural influence there. Many of the floral patterns, again, represent gardens, and gardens were in another idea of closeness to God or closeness to beauty or otherworldly.”
This work, One thing is certain and the rest is lies, includes a few different pieces besides this large panel, including images that have been tacked onto the wall and a freestanding panel near the back wall.
Let’s continue exploring this work with the installation near the back wall of the gallery.
[ Mystical Chimes ]4C. One thing is certain and the rest is lies – south
If you’re using the tactile map, we are moving from west wall (B) to location (C), near the back of the gallery to the left of the door to the media lab.
Stepping towards the back right and left (or south-east) corner of the gallery is a door that leads through, following the east wall, and into our media lab. You’re welcome to continue through here, grab a tea or take a break. I’ll continue in the gallery and pivot left so I am facing the back, south wall. Once positioned about 2 metres or 6 feet back from that wall, and then stepping a few inches to my left, I am near the 2nd panel of the work in the installation titled One thing is certain and the rest is lies.
It is a freestanding piece that shares the similar tall, arched silhouette and bright colour palette of its wall-mounted counterpart. It is supported by two perpendicular triangular feet (like a cross or X) whose edges are coloured with a shocking neon pink along the edges, their faces left unpainted, showing the natural wood. The panel stands upright on the floor, allowing us to walk around it, the piece painted on both sides. Tactile floor tape marks the approach and perimeter of the piece, but it is also secure enough to be cane detectable, all sides firmly touching the ground.
This panel is not illuminated, but the colours and patterns are bright and command attention. It uses the same colours and patterns but in larger square, quilt-like patches.
Behind the sculpture on the south wall, a mural of printed, poster-sized images unfolds. Each 18 x 24” piece displays a distinct pattern, all sharing the same bright colours found in the two large panels nearby. Together, they transform the 12-foot wall into something like a warm, inviting quilt. Some of these patterns appear in the tactile objects at the welcome station, inviting touch and deeper engagement.
For me—someone who is white, queer, and has spent most of my life on the west coast, where nature is wrapped in the damp, deep greens of cedars and pines—these patterns evoke gardens unlike any I’ve known. Some designs feature interlocking vines; others display geometric shapes—triangles repeating across the surface. The varying colours suggest hidden blooms tucked among dense leaves, vibrant and unexpected.
There’s a brightness here that feels both festive and comforting. The colours transport me: I imagine a fragrant, spice-filled outdoor gathering, somewhere far from here yet somehow close—surrounded by loving friends with a taste for neon, warmth, and joy.
Whess asked Moozhan, “I think what’s really striking about a lot of your work is the deliberate use of quite fluorescent colours. It feels very alive and lively. Is that a part of it? How did you select colours? Moozhan answered: “Typically, these patterns would be very colourful, but not quite as vibrant in terms of some of the very neon or artificial colours that are being used here, but this was an experiment for myself to use more colour. To be more playful, not just with the patterns and colours, but with size, scale and materials. But I just really wanted to be really bold and strong and maximalist and sort of be a bit too much for the viewer, in a way. You might stare at it for too long, and it might hurt your eyes, but I just really wanted to play with that boldness and that maximalist approach.”
Let’s turn left and face the east wall, left of where you entered at the front door of the gallery.
[ Mystical Chimes ]4D. Persian Carpet Series
If you’re using the tactile map, we are turning from the south wall installation (C) to location (D), facing the east wall.
Pivoting left to face the east wall, I feel along the floor for the tactile tape that marks the edge of the other work installed in the gallery. The work titled Persian Carpet Series, is a three-panel series, with each piece mounted at varying heights. From each piece, six elongated carpet tassels are suspended. These thick, heavily braided cords extend from the bottom edge of each panel, draping toward the floor and sprawling outward in undulating, looping paths, each ending in a luscious and dense tassel. The cords overlap and rest in bunching serpentine lines. Tactile floor tape outlines the perimeter of the installation to enhance cane detection and mitigate tripping hazards, but the artist welcomes us to make gentle contact with the cords, encouraging a tactile exploration of their dense texture.
Each of the panels is slightly taller than wide, 20 x 24 inches, and with their printed pattern textures is available as a tactile object in the welcome station. The triptych, 3 works in series, are all installed much higher than wall works are usually installed, but sighted visitors tend to stand closer to works installed at the typical 56” off the ground. With the ropes coiling on the ground, it requires people to stand back and it is more comfortable to take in the work that is installed above “eye level”, defined by conventional non-disabled, median European measurements.
I’ll start with a colour description, going from left to right or nearest the window on the north wall, and then over to the right near the freestanding installation.
Pink (left) Panel: Positioned closest to the gallery’s north side near the wall of the window, this panel is hung slightly lower than the others, about 62 inches or 90 centimetres above the ground. Under the Persian-inspired floral and geometric motifs is a gradient of colours that transitions from soft, light peachy tones at the top to rich royal magenta at the bottom. From its base, six braided cords—alternating between a deep and bright pink—cascade downward, gathering loosely on the floor. This panel stands apart from the others, with more space separating its neighbouring green print.
Green (middle) Panel: Installed highest among the three, this piece is adorned with blue-green Persian patterns on top of an intense lemon gradient that fades into a soft lime. Its cords alternate deep dark night blue and sunshine yellow strands, snaking across the floor in intertwining lines that echo the panel’s intricate visual patterns.
Purple/Pink (right) Panel: Mounted between the other two in height and located furthest to the right, approximately 48 inches or 120 centimetres away from the nearby freestanding panel installation, this work features a gradient of soft floral violet tones blending into soft bubblegum pinks. The cords extending from this work alternate between a deep summer flower purple and soft floral candy pinks, their coils on the floor forming subtle overlaps with the adjacent rope arrangements.
All three works have decorative surfaces on top of their colour gradients that mirror traditional Persian carpet motifs.
Moozhan says the following about these works: “I created a Persian carpet printed on paper again with very bold colours. Each has a gradient and each has a different colour. These screen prints are on paper, but they are mounted to a wooden cradle board, and each has six tassels coming down from the bottom, collecting on the floor and overlapping. The idea here was to create a Persian carpet that was not functional, that betrayed its original idea or the intention of the object. So mounting them on the walls, making the carpet itself very small and not with textiles, and then elongating the tassels to be 15 feet long… thereby, I have made this object no longer a functional carpet!
With no set meaning, these objects offer the potential for new narratives.”
[ Mystical Chimes ]With that, we conclude the described tour of there hidden, far beneath and long ago. Later, during the exhibition’s run, we will have a curator’s essay and curatorial fellow commentary, as well as a response from author Asia Jong, available in the exhibition binder and digital assets.
Thank you so much for joining us on this creative access audio tour! We’d love to hear your thoughts on this experience and how we can improve it. If you carried any tactile object(s) during the tour, please return it to the welcome station! We acknowledge that we cannot be everything to everyone and respect that our creative access explorations may not serve your needs. You can reach us at access@grunt.ca or chat with any of the staff on-site with any feedback you have the capacity to provide.
Thank you again.
