The desire to uncover the parents truth is a universal issue. It leads the autobiographical project of discovering individual identity. For the children of diaspora, the desire to uncover their history becomes tied to the places and contexts from which the story has been removed.
Through painting old family photographs, Negin Dastgheib lets herself experience her Iranian family's past. The Iranian Revolution uprooted and scattered around the world almost six million lives. For the second generation, this movement creates a particular kind of longing- one that is generated by dialogical, fragmented narratives and therefore depend more upon imagination. It is a reconstruction of memory from the vantage point of the here and now. The ‘memory of their memories’ is being carried by the second generation.
Late modernist painters, such as Peter Doig and Luc Tuymans, influence Dastgheib’s work. Also painting movements such as Les Nabis and Fauvism that emphasize painterly qualities and strong colour over representational or realistic values. Her paintings are of a time where there was a strong sense of hope in the people of Iran. The images are of simple family outings yet convey subtle feelings of unease, the colours are just a bit too bright, too cheerful as the viewer becomes aware the figures are under some sort of threat.
Through painting old family photographs, Negin Dastgheib lets herself experience her Iranian family's past. The Iranian Revolution uprooted and scattered around the world almost six million lives. For the second generation, this movement creates a particular kind of longing- one that is generated by dialogical, fragmented narratives and therefore depend more upon imagination. It is a reconstruction of memory from the vantage point of the here and now. The ‘memory of their memories’ is being carried by the second generation.
Late modernist painters, such as Peter Doig and Luc Tuymans, influence Dastgheib’s work. Also painting movements such as Les Nabis and Fauvism that emphasize painterly qualities and strong colour over representational or realistic values. Her paintings are of a time where there was a strong sense of hope in the people of Iran. The images are of simple family outings yet convey subtle feelings of unease, the colours are just a bit too bright, too cheerful as the viewer becomes aware the figures are under some sort of threat.
