"Runaway American Dream" (see image above) was the title of one of Sara Rahbar's pieces on Art Brussels (stand Hilger Contemporary) .
The Tehran-born artist fled Iran in the turbulent period following the Islamic revolution & preceding the Iran-Iraq war. After her escape Rahbar studied in London and New York and now spends most of her productive life between Tehran and New York. In this going back and forth, an apocalyptic memory has been revised in her reworking of traditional materials into proto-contemporary textiles and textures of national belonging. The most frequent theme in her work is the Flag, seen as a symbol of ideological and nationalistic violence.
The pieces presented on Art Brussels belonged to her "War Series", consisting out of various used military equipment (empty backpacks, stretchers, coats, belts etc), beautifully embroidered with somewhat sarcastic messages and lyrical ornaments.
Sara Rahbar's upcoming solo show at Hilger Contemporary, aptly titled "I have no faith left for the devil to take" starts in Vienna on the 19th of May.