Abbas Akhavan

About this book

Abbas Akhavan (b. Tehran, Iran, 1977; lives and works in Toronto) can be counted among a generation of emerging Canadian artists reflecting on social issues through ephemeral, site-specific works. Akhavan?s works ? sculptures, installations, drawings, videos, and performances ? deal with destruction and exclusion, but also with acts of preservation and restoration. His conceptual objects show a creative process that is not yet complete. In his works, Akhavan refers to nature and the four elements ? fire, water, earth, and air. Plants or animals become elementary design components. In the exhibition at Villa Stuck, visitors first encounter a barrier in the form of a thuja hedge, bringing the outdoors inside. Here, the artist has left conspicuous traces of preceding exhibitions: the walls are unrenovated, the air-conditioning is switched off, and previously covered windows have been uncovered. Thus, Akhavan questions the responsibilities of a museum and whether or not common strategies of preservation are actually contemporary. 00Exhibition: Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany (29.06.-01.10.2017).