SEPTEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 14, 2024
One of the first artworks you see in the gallery is Shirin Khalatbari’s Babel (2019). In this piece Khalatbari has taken control of the illustrated tower and altered it once again; an action you wouldn’t think possible, given the uniform nature of puzzles. Here the pieces are intended to fit together to present the original tale of The Tower of Babel. Yet, Khalatbari has demonstrated another way is possible. Upon examining the piece further, you’ll notice one puzzle piece is a mirror. A gesture inviting you to be part of the narrative before you.
What happens when we feel empowered to take control of the narrative from Western doctrines and allow ourselves to ground into our own rituals and history? We may be charmed by what’s reflected out.
When Unearthed Sights Collide, examines the exploration of such inquiries through the interpretations of two artists. Through installation, photography, drawing, and sculpture, Shirin Khalatbari and Sun Park surface and shape alternative narratives that question the established notions of religion and archeology.
Park’s installation begins left of the gallery entrance and walks you through their personal mythology and rituals. As you move through the installation, you’ll feel the guidance and luring presence of dragons in many forms. A nod to this year’s cosmological astrology, the wooden dragon. Take a closer look at the objects before you. Some are common and familiar materials, rice paper, a Lego piece, lychee skin, communion crackers, and so on. Some are natural and some are not, a true reflection of our existing world. All are treated with respect and displayed symbolically; they present Park and collaborator tani tane’s ritualistic practices. The installation leaves the viewer with the question of what feeds us spiritually and how we digest that into our bodies. Their work pulls from childhood experiences and
Sun Park and tani tane, becoming, unbecoming, 2024 (detail). Bird beak bone, fossilized barnacle, tree branch, chocolate bar foil, dried seaweed, bell from Oñí Ocan by Courtney Desiree Morris, painted and chocolate wrapped foiled wood, dried wheatgrass, pomelo peel, rice noodles, tree seedpod, glass sand, pinecone, found plastic, tape measure sheep from Danna Kim, gingerbread cookie, matchbox, wooden stamp, chestnut shells, rudraksha seed, bull tile by Andres “AJ” Serrano, ceramic cup, tamarind seeds, dried lotus, shell disk, rice paper wrapper, communion tray, dried mangosteen, shells, driftwood, Shrinky Dink, feather tuft, stone concretion, fossilized coral, Lego, sand dollar, bird feathers, litchi shell, molded mycelium, plastic bead, charcoal, light bulb reflector, lichen, dried mushroom, dried squash cap, cashew, selenite formation, moonstone, head induced sealant explosion, lady bug shell, mirror, black sand, painted and silver leaf foiled wood, magician card from Fantastical Creatures Tarot Deck. With thanks to Tuyen Nguyen. Courtesy of the Artists
narratives from literature that illuminate the act of consumption and invite viewers to reconsider the boundaries of identity and community.
Take a moment to sit on the smooth wooden benches and try to root yourself in the moment. If facing the fountain, you may be meditated towards another place or space. Facing the other direction, you may find a blurry reflection of yourself and start imagining other ways of being.
In their interdisciplinary work, Khalatbari, confronts archeology as a tool used by the colonial powers to exploit Iran’s archaeological treasures and natural resources during the early 20th century. As you walk through hanging strips of emergency blanket, you are faced with objects that resemble ancient artifacts. You see a fragile seeming tower looming over. Khalatbari’s work references the manipulation of history as means to justify domination and erasure of cultural heritage. In order to reclaim the narrative, they use what remains to flip and reshape what has been lost. Their work asks the viewer to reconsider their perceived knowledge of the objects that are displayed in front of you.
“No one sleeps in this room without the dream of a common language,” Adrienne Rich
When Unearthed Sights Collide stems out of the deep human desire to be understood. To be accepted. To have a voice and be heard.
When I first read this quote by Adrienne Rich in Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s book The Centre, I felt the echoes of its intention through the works of Khalatbari and Park. When feeling misunderstood, it can be freeing to create authentic practices that help us connect with ourselves through our own frame. Their work invites you to take a closer look at what hangs before you and to critically examine our understanding of the physical and mythological world we know.
1: Installation view
2: Shirin Khalatbari, Babel, 2019. Altered 5000-piece Ravensburger puzzle of The Tower of Babel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder c. 1563, mirror, frame. Courtesy of the Artist
3: Shirin Khalatbari, Babel, 2019 (detail). Altered 5000-piece Ravensburger puzzle of The Tower of Babel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder c. 1563, mirror, frame. Courtesy of the Artist
4: Shirin Khalatbari, They Who Own the Memory, 2024. Cold casted bronze, velvet, mirror, shelf. Courtesy of the Artist
5,6,7: Shirin Khalatbari, They Who Own the Memory, 2024 (detail). Cold casted bronze, velvet, mirror, shelf. Courtesy of the Artist
8,9: Sun Park, Unexpected Growth (Drawing of a painting I made when I was a teenager), 2024. Graphite on Bristol. Courtesy of the Artist
10, 11: Installation view
12, 13, 14: Sun Park and tani tane, becoming, unbecoming, 2024 (detail).Bird beak bone, fossilized barnacle, tree branch, chocolate bar foil, dried seaweed, bell from Oñí Ocan by Courtney Desiree Morris, painted and chocolate wrapped foiled wood, dried wheatgrass, pomelo peel, rice noodles, tree seedpod, glass sand, pinecone, found plastic, tape measure sheep from Danna Kim, gingerbread cookie, matchbox, wooden stamp, chestnut shells, rudraksha seed, bull tile by Andres “AJ” Serrano, ceramic cup, tamarind seeds, dried lotus, shell disk, rice paper wrapper, communion tray, dried mangosteen, shells, driftwood, Shrinky Dink, feather tuft, stone concretion, fossilized coral, Lego, sand dollar, bird feathers, litchi shell, molded mycelium, plastic bead, charcoal, light bulb reflector, lichen, dried mushroom, dried squash cap, cashew, selenite formation, moonstone, head induced sealant explosion, lady bug shell, mirror, black sand, painted and silver leaf foiled wood, magician card from Fantastical Creatures Tarot Deck. With thanks to Tuyen Nguyen. Courtesy of the Artists
15, 16, 17: Sun Park, Apparent transformation is a river where things proliferate (Alice Sparkly Kat), 2024 (detail). Slime, rice, communion bread, jade and plastic beads, polyester thread, pine needles, paint, wire, pins. With special thanks to Chelsea America Torres. Courtesy of the Artist
18, 19, 20: Sun Park, Grounding, 2024 (detail). Yarn, thread. Courtesy of the Artist
21: Installation view
22: Sun Park, “I’m not an animal anymore, sister.” (Han Kang), 2024. Stained glass. With thanks to Angie Oko. Courtesy of the Artist
23, 24: Installation view
25: Sun Park, Fountain, 2024. Ceramic, wood, air dry clay, paint, something from the sea, Julie Moon’s branch. With thanks to Victor Saucedo and Shirin Khalatbari. Courtesy of the Artist
26: Sun Park, Eating as Becoming, 2024. Risograph printed booklet. Printing and design in collaboration with Daniela Rinoco (Recibidor Press), writing by Sun Park. With thanks to Leonard Reidelbach for the title. Courtesy of the Artist
27: Shirin Khalatbari, The Struggle is Real, 2024. Space blanket. Courtesy of the Artist
28: Installation view
29, 30: Shirin Khalatbari, Space without Places, 2024. Cold casted bronze, space blanket. Courtesy of the Artist
31, 32: Shirin Khalatbari, Matter of Time (the oil derrick), 2024 (detail). Reed, twine, tar, cold casted bronze, soil. Courtesy of the Artist
33: Shirin Khalatbari, Time Without Duration, 2024. Hand-scanned images of Luristan bronze, space blanket. Courtesy of the Artist
34: Installation view
35: Shirin Khalatbari, Matter of Time (the oil derrick), 2024. Reed, twine, tar, cold casted bronze, soil. Courtesy of the Artist
36: Installation view
When I was a child, I avoided communion—the symbolic eating and drinking of the body of Christ. By stepping out of the sanctuary to the drinking fountain in the back, I inadvertently created my own ritual involving water.
I relate this memory to two novels—The Vegetarian by Han Kang and The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi—stories where a woman’s choice around consumption, and a community’s response to her decision, completely transform her life. In these narratives, the act of eating, or refusing to eat, exposes the sanitized violence of daily living.
In this body of work, I want to imagine other ways to live. I draw from The Four Pillars of Destiny, known as saju in Korean. In this cosmological astrology, 2024 is the year of the wood dragon. Before dragons became associated with empire, they were a folk symbol of the people. Dragons are rivers, and rivers fertilize land, furthering life.
Many of the waterways of where I live, San Francisco—unceded Ramaytush and Muwekma Ohlone land—were filled; colonizers made a wet place dry. In building by current spirituality, I look to the land and the waters that are and once were. I remember a pine tree in my childhood yard—initially a Christmas tree planted by a former tenant—that once towered 50-feet tall.
I am not a tree; I cannot live by soil, light, and water. I am not even a vegetarian, I eat meat. In the act of consuming, something from the outside enters within. In this transfer, questions about the boundaries of a body or community bubble up.
In my latest work, I contemplate the intricate dance between archaeology, the discovery of oil, and the shadow of colonialism in West Asia.
When an artifact is wrenched from its native soil, it loses the whispers of its past, severing the threads that bound it to the land and its stories. This act of removal is more than physical; it is a symbolic theft that unravels the delicate weave of history and memory. The soul of a culture is stripped away, leaving a void where identity and pride once flourished. In foreign hands, these artifacts become mere objects, their essence diluted, their stories commodified, their loss echoing through time, longing for a return to the land that gave them life.
In the early 20th century, Iran stood at the crossroads of ancient civilizations and newly discovered oil fields, where history and ambition collided. As drills unearthed oil alongside artifacts, the echoes of past empires intertwined with future aspirations. The discovery of oil heightened Western interest, as colonial powers merged archaeological exploration with their strategic ambitions, using both to justify their dominion over the region. Under the guise of scholarly expeditions, archaeologists uncovered relics not just for knowledge but to reinforce the colonial agenda.
In this body of work, I draw inspiration from the bronze artifacts of the ancient Luristan culture, most of which were unearthed in clandestine excavations and are now scattered across private collections and Western museums.
Artist Talk and Screening
Wednesday, November 13 | 6–8pm
SFAC Main Gallery
Join artist Shirin Khalatbari and curator and educator Kathy Zarur for a conversation followed by a screening of documentary films by Ebrahim Golestan.
Writing Workshop at Winslow House Project
Sunday, November 24 | 10am–2pm Winslow House Project, Vallejo, CA
Space is limited. RSVP required. Email sfac.galleries@sfgov.org to register With artist Sun Park and writer London Pinkney.
Closing Reception Performances
Saturday, December 14 | 2–4pm
SFAC Main Gallery
Performances by artist and dancer Leyya Mona Tawil and violinist and therapist Dr. Sangeeta Swamy.
For more information, visit sfartscommission.org
All programs are free and open to the public
When Unearthed Sights Collide
Shirin Khalatbari
Sun Park
Curated by Shirin Makaremi
September 20 – December 14, 2024
San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 126
San Francisco, CA 94102 sfartscommission.org
Published by: SFAC Galleries
Photography: Aaron Wojack
Design: Companion-Platform
San Francisco Arts Commission
Galleries staff:
Ralph Remington
Director of Cultural Affairs
Ebon Glenn
Deputy Director of Programs
Carolina Aranibar-Fernandez
Director of Galleries and Public Programs
Jackie Im
Associate Curator
Maysoun Wazwaz
Manager of Education and Public Programs
Theo Lau
Program Associate
Matt McKinley
Lead Preparator
When Unearthed Sights Collide is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The artists and curator would like to thank Matt McKinley and Thi Phromratanapongse for their work on the exhibition.
