Rouzbeh Akhbari: Por Ser A Terra Muito Calmosa | Photos of the exhibition and a video-guided tour · 4Cs - From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture

Galeria Fundação Amélia de Mello, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon
Curated by Luísa Santos and Ana Fabíola Maurício

Produced by Bigorna - Julia Flamingo and Sofia Saleme

“Por Ser A Terra Muito Calmosa is a solo exhibition by Rouzbeh Akhbari (1992, Tehran). Part of a multifaceted research project titled Tales from the Gardens of Zār, this exhibition unfolds in various formal and conceptual layers. Consisting of a short film, a fictocritical novella and a series of sculptural and wall works, Akhbari’s exhibition brings together multiple nodes in a constellation of stories that revolve around the legends of edible earth in connection to purported paranormal activities in the Strait of Hormuz.

It might be helpful to tell the story of how we, at the 4Cs, came across this work. We met Rouzbeh Akhbari in Lisbon in early 2019 during his first research residency at the HANGAR. Back in 2019 we had most of our 4Cs Lisbon activities fully planned, except for a very few such as our last arts-based research residency programmed for April 2021. The connections Akhbari’s work drew with colonial powers and conflicts, paired with his research-based practice, made it clear that he would be the best fit for this residency. Soon after our initial discussions with Akhbari, it also became clear that a residency would not be enough, and so we decided to show part of his research in an exhibition. The work presented here, at the Galeria Fundação Amélia de Mello – home for research-based art – brings forward several layers (of objects, sounds, still and moving pictures, literature) that embody micro-narratives.”

Excerpt of “Por Ser A Terra Muito Calmosa” written by Luísa Santos and Ana Fabíola Maurício, for the exhibition catalogue, available here.