Each side of this calligraphic hanging sculpture by Iman Safaei features the colloquial Persian expression Sepeleshk, roughly equivalent to the American phrase “no way.” It has been suggested that this Persian saying may have originated among gamblers unsuccessful at throwing dice, suggesting that it once had a coarser meaning. Created using an openwork technique in which the letters appear to float in space, the ironwork is reminiscent of earlier metalwork in Iran, for example, a seventeenth-century brass ‘alam, or standard, used in Shi‘a processions marking the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (M.85.237.91).
Safaei frequently employs commonplace expressions, tongue twisters, nursery rhymes, and slogans in his calligraphic work, which he renders in iron, brass, and neon in both large and small scale. These works speak to the ubiquity of writing in modern-day society as a means of both artistic expression and communication, regardless of the significance of the message. By incorporating everyday slang, Safaei reconceptualizes calligraphy as an art form and challenges the reverence historically accorded it.
2024
