Bahar Heidarzade
Le mie pietre sono aquiloni
Castello Scaligero di Malcesine, Malcesine (VR)
15 May – 3 November 2024
The majestic setting of the Scaliger Castle in Malcesine, a medieval village overlooking the Veronese shore of Lake Garda, will host a series of installations by Iranian artist Bahar Heidarzade (Tehran, 1981) from 15 May to 3 November 2024.
The exhibition, curated by Marina Pizziolo and Romano Ravasio and organised by the Municipality of Malcesine, aims to stimulate reflection on the sadly topical issue of violence against women. Not to mourn yesterday's victims, but to save tomorrow's victims, with the extraordinary power of sharing.
Bahar Heidarzade was born in Iran, a country where women are subject to heavy prohibitions, which drastically limit their freedom. In order to be free, Heidarzade had to leave her country: if she returned, she would be punished with imprisonment.
The exhibition is in continuity with the artist's research into the weight of memories, symbolically represented by stones. The stones are made by the artist from papier-mâché, using newspaper sheets containing disturbing news stories.
The heart of the exhibition will be the large immersive installation created in the Sala Labia of the Scaliger Castle. At the centre of the room, on the floor, a video will be projected showing the artist lying down, crushed by an enormous stone. Women know how to take on the pain of others, more than others. And women are too often the victims of acts of violence.
Above Heidarzade's body, dozens of stones will be suspended in space. Visitors will feel the mental weight of those stones thrown, but stuck in the air. 'More hands throwing stones. More women victims of acts of violence',
explains curator Marina Pizziolo. "We must learn to listen to the words of those women, before they become a cry. Only then can we stop those stones, thrown in the name of something we cannot call love. And keep them suspended, in flight. It is we, together, who can turn the stones into kites'.
The performance Stone XXL that the artist has realised in the streets of the village of Malcesine will be projected on a wall of the Hall. The performance
by Bahar Heidarzade is the sharing of a fatigue, the participation in a pain, the collective release from a pain.
The exhibition, curated by Marina Pizziolo and Romano Ravasio and organised by the Municipality of Malcesine, aims to stimulate reflection on the sadly topical issue of violence against women. Not to mourn yesterday's victims, but to save tomorrow's victims, with the extraordinary power of sharing.
Bahar Heidarzade was born in Iran, a country where women are subject to heavy prohibitions, which drastically limit their freedom. In order to be free, Heidarzade had to leave her country: if she returned, she would be punished with imprisonment.
The exhibition is in continuity with the artist's research into the weight of memories, symbolically represented by stones. The stones are made by the artist from papier-mâché, using newspaper sheets containing disturbing news stories.
The heart of the exhibition will be the large immersive installation created in the Sala Labia of the Scaliger Castle. At the centre of the room, on the floor, a video will be projected showing the artist lying down, crushed by an enormous stone. Women know how to take on the pain of others, more than others. And women are too often the victims of acts of violence.
Above Heidarzade's body, dozens of stones will be suspended in space. Visitors will feel the mental weight of those stones thrown, but stuck in the air. 'More hands throwing stones. More women victims of acts of violence',
explains curator Marina Pizziolo. "We must learn to listen to the words of those women, before they become a cry. Only then can we stop those stones, thrown in the name of something we cannot call love. And keep them suspended, in flight. It is we, together, who can turn the stones into kites'.
The performance Stone XXL that the artist has realised in the streets of the village of Malcesine will be projected on a wall of the Hall. The performance
by Bahar Heidarzade is the sharing of a fatigue, the participation in a pain, the collective release from a pain.
If we are together, memories cannot crush us. Memories, especially those of violence suffered, by us or by others, must become action, sharing, and therefore hope. Only in this way can they become a kite, capable of lifting us into a flight that is a measure of our humanity.
In the castle's outdoor spaces, a series of artistic interventions of conceptual suggestion will be realised: a sort of golden thread that will light up certain points of the castle, reminding visitors of the theme of the exhibition.
In the castle's outdoor spaces, a series of artistic interventions of conceptual suggestion will be realised: a sort of golden thread that will light up certain points of the castle, reminding visitors of the theme of the exhibition.
