Made from hand-sewn and painted recycled plastic food packages, this work uses the remnants of consumption as an undulating canvas to highlight the beautiful bulges, crevices, and connections among and between bodies. The work is inspired by the idea of the pahlevoon (hero), as well as the shifting body standards seen in Iranian portraiture in the 1800s. Notions of beauty, clothing, and gender shifted due to European influence and presence in the country. I specifically pay homage to facial hair and curves, which were drastically altered and deemed undesirable by the end of the century. On a quilt of waste, I imagine how strength and beauty can be defined by the ways we support one another.
Golden stories by Juliana Pepper | Trash to Treasure | Mosaic Art Collective
