A Study on Bahman Dadkhah's Artworks, a Solo Exhibition

22 December 2023- 12 January 2024

Artist: Bahman Dadkhah

The leaders of the desert tribes in Asia, who had besieged the Roman Empire, would entrust their sons to Rome for a better upbringing and as hostages to fulfill treaties established with Rome as a preventive measure against invasion. These treaties were fragile and unreliable. Attila himself was a hostage, a product of these entrusted relationships, and an adoptee raised in Roman customs. However, none of these characteristics prevented him from later leading the Huns to the farthest point in the western region of the Roman realm, pushing them to the edge of the known world at that time.
In today’s global empire era, there is no place left that extends beyond its dominion. There is no room for dialogue, negotiation, or compromise. The captors currently in control of the hostages insist on their silence, but even in their quietness, they communicate through closed mouths, bound hands, and unwavering gazes fixed on the infinite. Their actual lives have been lost. Given these circumstances, they observe us and then question us in return. We, too, are hostages to a kind of power beyond ourselves. We are like living coins in a vast currency exchange, where our bodies and souls are constantly evaluated. An unnamed authority looms over our lives, possessing both demonic and divine qualities. The authority of a jealous deity in a monotheistic global religion imposes its judgment on humanity according to its own laws. Whether these laws are rooted in ancient religions or, more accurately, aligned with those religions, the imperative of the affluent and globalized progress has become intertwined with these religions. They permeate our traits, exerting influence on our every action and molding them. The pressure they exert on us is so intense and severe that it not only imposes itself on us but also shapes our desires and aspirations.Our captivity has ensnared us, subjecting us to the authority of a totalitarian power that is far beyond our comprehension. It forcibly and gratuitously takes away our lives because it needs them to keep its machinery running. This is why it has turned us into pawns in its market and made us victims of its own actions.
The vast and non-human space has been mistakenly filled with values that have absorbed everything into itselt. Value has become equal to the sum of all the intertwined and incorrect values. Through the power of deception, everything has become the shared value of everything and anything. We have reached a point where the divine force, once celestial and sanctified, has departed from the Earth. We now only turn towards it to justify a crime. A place where the triumph of unchecked selfishness has transformed into insincere gestures of deceit. Do not assume that one can escape from this trap, where the words of generosity can turn into the lures of deception.
William Blake, the English mystical poet, wrote about heaven embracing the earth. Today, this image has taken on a different meaning for us and has come to symbolize the corruption of the skys caused by the deception of the earth.
The hostage, now stripped and bloodied, has become so frail that a mere rope binds him to life. Faded in color and lying on the edge of the roof, he takes the form of his shadow, cast by the light shining on the planks. However, his presence still strongly persists, and it does not diminish beyond this point. This sign is clear evidence of his existence. Headstrong and determined, he employs a method that is both elusive to those in power and imposing. On this eerie night, in the solitude of his contemplation, where his imprisonment and seclusion add to his grandeur, he persistently challenges the powers with all his might and force of action, ensuring that his binding threads remain unbroken.
He stands, lives, and moves with all his strength on the heart of this force that loosens muscles and penetrates bones. According to Spinoza and Deleuze, this is the ability to resist power. Deleuze asserts that all that is ability is good and only power is evil
This is evident in Bahman Dadkhah’s purpose-built prison, where captive hostages, entangled with resilience, endure pain but sing their anthems with pride, repeatedly asserting their ability to resist the opposing powers. Powers that tear apart and combat versus forces that liberate.
In our presence and in the face of eternity, these hostages, bound in captivity, resemble both symbols of submission and embodiments of steadfastness and dignity. They are akin to Rodin’s sculpture, “The Burghers of Calais,” with ropes around their necks, standing barefoot, captive under the weight of their circumstances; or they are similar to the liberated prisoners in Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” singing the anthem of hope with every sound.
Amidst the heavy dizziness of their daily responsibilities, their weary spirits, stirred by the demands of life, prompt them to express their grievances about existence. They are forces of relentless creation, constantly evolving, striving for the continuity of life, and perpetually renewing.
— René Schérer, 27 January 2010

Delaram Aghapour
Born in 1992, Tehran

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Azad University of Tehran.

The exhibition “A Study on Bahman Dadkhah's Artworks” was organized by her and held at Didar Gallery.

Prior to this event, she trained in sculpture at Mojtaba Ramzi’s studio.

Between 2014 and 2021, Delaram Aghapour worked at Iranshahr Gallery and its affiliated institutions.

She is the founder of Nami Art Investment & Consultancy and has also served as the Art Director of Baroque Gallery.