352 - Sadegh Tirafkan, Iranian-Canadian (1965-2013), Body Signs no. 4

Sadegh Tirafkan, Iranian-Canadian (1965-2013), Body Signs no. 4 signed, dated and titled 'S.Tirafkan Nov 2003 body sign#4' numbered '2/6' (on the reverse) toned black and white print Executed in 2003, 2/6 101 x 81 cm (print size) Exhibited: New York, Sadegh Tirafkan, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, 10 January - 14 February 2004 (another edition exhibited). Literature: Shayegan, Daryush and Caujolle, Christian, Sadegh Tirafkan Iranian Man, Brussels, 2005. p.27 (illustrated). Provenance: Private Collection, Texas. Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2007. This work is number two from an edition of six. In Sadegh Tirafkan’s series Body Curves and Body Signs, he superimposes block stamping, calligraphy, and tattoos on images of a male figure. In these images of astonishing formal beauty and originality, the body is both revealed and hidden by the calligraphic signs and stamps. Words spelling fire, water, renewal, secrets, and single letters evoke the hidden language of Tirafkan's psyche while the stamps represent symbols of Iranian popular culture and memories of Tirafkan's childhood. The imagery in these series was inspired by ancient Iranian tattooing practices as well as by wooden block print stamps used to decorate cloth. But for Tirafkan "the blocks have been used here to stamp the human form. Flesh is the canvas branded by culture".