Fidelity; Numbers of Politics

Amirhossein Bayani
September 04  —  September 23, 2020
-1 × Underground

Amirhossein Bayani’s works is loaded with political references, depicted in a poetic, implicit, metaphoric fashion. “Fidelity; Numbers of Politics” is a follow-up to his previous series, “Fidelity; Names of Politics,” dealing with deaths that are broader, deeper, and more unknown. Both series deal with deaths that are related to politics: the difference lies in the subject matters. The two series complement each other as the cogwheels of political deaths interlock. “Fidelity; Names of Politics” was about well-known individuals whose voices echo in the corridors of history more distinctly and their bodies are more visible among the innumerable others, while “Fidelity; Numbers of Politics” addresses the deaths of those countless anonymous bodies that are reduced to mere digits and are only mentioned briefly in general news.

Here, Bayani has utilized vistas and colorful ambiences that are nothing like the tragedies of controversial deaths to give his painterly account, the result of which is dramatic, as he turns the tragic into a romantic show. Illustrations of the ocean, lifeless bodies that are resting peacefully, translucent coffins floating on water, and mourning in silent isolation have given a serene sense to death, making an implicit connection between nature and death.

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