Farhad Ahrarnia: Stitched

The Roots of a Scream, 36 x 30 cm, 2008

Artist Farhad Ahrarnia was born in Shiraz, Iran and now lives in the UK. The publication of this catalogue celebrates his first solo exhibition in London, curated by Rose Issa, at Leighton House Museum, summer 2008.

Stitched Farhad Ahrarnia

edited by Rose Issa

The Way of Love, 33 x 37 cm, 2007

edited by Rose Issa

The Way of Love, 33 x 37 cm, 2007

Stitched Farhad Ahrarnia

Knots of Power strokes of Desire Liberty of Void

The Flesh of Words, 113 x 99 cm, 2008

Stitched Farhad Ahrarnia

Knots of Power strokes of Desire Liberty of Void

The Flesh of Words, 113 x 99 cm, 2008

Lady Oracle, Grey, 34 x 28 cm, 2007 | Lady Oracle, Red, 34 x 28 cm, 2007

Stitched 4

The Becoming, 28 x 22 cm, 2007

Lady Oracle, Grey, 34 x 28 cm, 2007 | Lady Oracle, Red, 34 x 28 cm, 2007

Stitched 4

The Becoming, 28 x 22 cm, 2007

Left: On the Shores of Infinite Thoughts 41 x 33 cm, 2006-07

Bavar, 58 x 20 cm, 2006

7 Stitched

Left: On the Shores of Infinite Thoughts 41 x 33 cm, 2006-07

Bavar, 58 x 20 cm, 2006

7 Stitched

Flirtation With Surrender, 108 x 120 cm, 2008

Stitched 8

Flirtation With Surrender, 108 x 120 cm, 2008

Stitched 8

Under the Net: A Landscape of Faces

Over the last seven years Farhad Ahrarnia has used needles and miles of colourful thread

banned from performing in post-revolutionary Iran for two decades. Ahrarnia also depicts

to hand stitch and embroider a variety of digital and photographic images. His obsessive,

young Iranian celebrities, including the movie stars Leila Hatami and Hediyeh Tehrani. In

and at times compulsive, involvement with his art stems from emotional, intellectual and

one clever play on voyeurism, he depicts a bird, captured on a mobile phone by an American

conceptual sources deeply embedded in his personal history. Ahrarnia selects an image

soldier, while the colourful “Birds of Shiraz” series deconstructs the traditional Persian

from his archive of found photographs from the media and cyberspace and then digitally

drawing style of Gol-o-Bolbol (“Flowers and Nightingales”) in tribute to his beloved home-

prints them onto cotton aida for its evenly punctured, geometric and net-like surface. Then,

town of Shiraz. Meanwhile, old BBC and NBC microphones broadcast some distorted truths.

he patiently and contemplatively embellishes the surface of these images, stitch by stitch.

Much of Ahrarnia’s practice is based on appropriating, deconstructing and rearranging Ahrarnia has been inspired by several ideas from British novelist Iris Murdoch’s richly

mass-produced images and objects. Each one represents different aspects of life in the

philosophical work of fiction, “Under the Net”. There are many elements lurking “under the

contemporary Middle East and reflects his interest in deconstructing their various layers

net” of his grid-like canvas, for the language of needlework creates layers of meaning. With

of meaning and ideology embedded within them. Needlework may have feminine and

needles and thread, Ahrarnia disturbs the surface of his chosen subjects, creating a literal

domestic connotations, yet in Ahrarnia’s hands it becomes subversive: the act of repeatedly

and metaphorical attempt to pull out the hidden meanings that lurk beneath the imagery.

piercing an image with a sharp needle has a sense of violence and tension, and adds a layer of suspense and intrigue. The resulting artworks convey an air of vulnerability and anxiety,

Ahrarnia’s subjects vary greatly, from CCTV footage of the youth riots in Bradford, England,

and imply a sense of redemption.

in 2001, to recent portraits of deceased young American soldiers in Iraq. There is even the flamboyant Colonel Ghaddafi of Libya and, in his “Viva Diba” series, the former Empress of

Ahrarnia’s stitched surfaces force us to look more closely at his work. Our gaze is transfixed

Iran, Farah Diba Pahlavi. He deconstructs images of her from the 1960s and 70s: a crowning

by the minute fragments and details of his needlework. By exploring and transforming

ceremony, official visits to villages, mosques or schools. These images, often very pixillated,

familiar and politically charged images, Ahrarnia reflects the complexity of the contemporary

are frozen in time, melancholic depictions of a woman whose contribution to the Iranian art

Middle Eastern experience – a hybrid, fragmented and diverse reality, where tradition and

scene and affection for her countrymen few question. Ahrarnia portrays another iconic figure

modernity merge, with unpredictable, contradictory, and at times volatile consequences.

of 1960s Iran – the pop diva Googoosh. She was the most popular pre-revolutionary artist, “the voice of a nation”, an actress and singer who managed to reinvent herself after being

Stitched 10

Rose Issa, London 2008

11 Stitched

Under the Net: A Landscape of Faces

Over the last seven years Farhad Ahrarnia has used needles and miles of colourful thread

banned from performing in post-revolutionary Iran for two decades. Ahrarnia also depicts

to hand stitch and embroider a variety of digital and photographic images. His obsessive,

young Iranian celebrities, including the movie stars Leila Hatami and Hediyeh Tehrani. In

and at times compulsive, involvement with his art stems from emotional, intellectual and

one clever play on voyeurism, he depicts a bird, captured on a mobile phone by an American

conceptual sources deeply embedded in his personal history. Ahrarnia selects an image

soldier, while the colourful “Birds of Shiraz” series deconstructs the traditional Persian

from his archive of found photographs from the media and cyberspace and then digitally

drawing style of Gol-o-Bolbol (“Flowers and Nightingales”) in tribute to his beloved home-

prints them onto cotton aida for its evenly punctured, geometric and net-like surface. Then,

town of Shiraz. Meanwhile, old BBC and NBC microphones broadcast some distorted truths.

he patiently and contemplatively embellishes the surface of these images, stitch by stitch.

Much of Ahrarnia’s practice is based on appropriating, deconstructing and rearranging Ahrarnia has been inspired by several ideas from British novelist Iris Murdoch’s richly

mass-produced images and objects. Each one represents different aspects of life in the

philosophical work of fiction, “Under the Net”. There are many elements lurking “under the

contemporary Middle East and reflects his interest in deconstructing their various layers

net” of his grid-like canvas, for the language of needlework creates layers of meaning. With

of meaning and ideology embedded within them. Needlework may have feminine and

needles and thread, Ahrarnia disturbs the surface of his chosen subjects, creating a literal

domestic connotations, yet in Ahrarnia’s hands it becomes subversive: the act of repeatedly

and metaphorical attempt to pull out the hidden meanings that lurk beneath the imagery.

piercing an image with a sharp needle has a sense of violence and tension, and adds a layer of suspense and intrigue. The resulting artworks convey an air of vulnerability and anxiety,

Ahrarnia’s subjects vary greatly, from CCTV footage of the youth riots in Bradford, England,

and imply a sense of redemption.

in 2001, to recent portraits of deceased young American soldiers in Iraq. There is even the flamboyant Colonel Ghaddafi of Libya and, in his “Viva Diba” series, the former Empress of

Ahrarnia’s stitched surfaces force us to look more closely at his work. Our gaze is transfixed

Iran, Farah Diba Pahlavi. He deconstructs images of her from the 1960s and 70s: a crowning

by the minute fragments and details of his needlework. By exploring and transforming

ceremony, official visits to villages, mosques or schools. These images, often very pixillated,

familiar and politically charged images, Ahrarnia reflects the complexity of the contemporary

are frozen in time, melancholic depictions of a woman whose contribution to the Iranian art

Middle Eastern experience – a hybrid, fragmented and diverse reality, where tradition and

scene and affection for her countrymen few question. Ahrarnia portrays another iconic figure

modernity merge, with unpredictable, contradictory, and at times volatile consequences.

of 1960s Iran – the pop diva Googoosh. She was the most popular pre-revolutionary artist, “the voice of a nation”, an actress and singer who managed to reinvent herself after being

Stitched 10

Rose Issa, London 2008

11 Stitched

Under her Spell, 34 x 40 cm, 2007

Si le viol, le poison, le poignard, l’incendie, N’ont pas encore brodé de leurs plaisants dessins Le canevas banal de nos piteux destins, C’est que notre âme, hélas! n’est pas assez hardie.

If rape and poison, dagger and burning, Have still not embroidered their pleasant designs On the banal canvas of our pitiable destinies, It’s because our souls, alas, are not bold enough!

Charles Beaudelaire

13 Stitched

Under her Spell, 34 x 40 cm, 2007

Si le viol, le poison, le poignard, l’incendie, N’ont pas encore brodé de leurs plaisants dessins Le canevas banal de nos piteux destins, C’est que notre âme, hélas! n’est pas assez hardie.

If rape and poison, dagger and burning, Have still not embroidered their pleasant designs On the banal canvas of our pitiable destinies, It’s because our souls, alas, are not bold enough!

Charles Beaudelaire

13 Stitched

Cheshmhayash, 98 x 98 cm, 2008 | Avaze No, 34 x 38 cm, 2008

15 Stitched

Cheshmhayash, 98 x 98 cm, 2008 | Avaze No, 34 x 38 cm, 2008

15 Stitched

The Chant, 34 x 38 cm, 2006-07

TANHA SEDAST KE MIMANAD Only the voice remains FOROUGH FARROKHZAD

Stitched 16

The Chant, 34 x 38 cm, 2006-07

TANHA SEDAST KE MIMANAD Only the voice remains FOROUGH FARROKHZAD

Stitched 16

The Body of her Spirit, 44 x 26 cm, 2007

‘There is no longer wisdom. Only the products of its decay remain; one is folly, which has the comfort and assurance of wisdom without any of its substance; the other is the rumour of true things.’

Walter Benjamin

History is the collective narrative of humanity that links the living experience of the present generation with that of past generations. It is an account of seemingly endless chains of events, which are intertwined with distant echoes, rumours and mythology. In its history, humanity defines itself, finds its existential meaning and recognises the embrace of destiny.

Despite the knowledge of precise historical dates, names of kings, of politicians, important philosophers and artists, the writing of history is and will always remain a highly subjective matter. But our culture believes that the larger outline of historical knowledge is to be trusted as definitive, solidly unchangeable. The assumption that there is an objective, scientifically based history often affects the outcome of historical events themselves. Dogmatic assumptions of historical rights and wrongs can lead nations into social catastrophe, even war. Revolutions are made ‘to change the course of history’. Revolutionaries believe that they can turn the wheels of destiny; they re-write history the way they perceive it to be or the way they want it to be interpreted.

Nevertheless history tends to survive all attempts to force its spirit. Its natural current flows through small social groups like the family circle or the tribal unit; it is kept alive by the telling of stories, through poetry, traditional songs, through the handing on of skills, of books, objects and images. Such memory is the living source of history resistant to politically manipulated ‘historical truth’.

Stitched 18

The Body of her Spirit, 44 x 26 cm, 2007

‘There is no longer wisdom. Only the products of its decay remain; one is folly, which has the comfort and assurance of wisdom without any of its substance; the other is the rumour of true things.’

Walter Benjamin

History is the collective narrative of humanity that links the living experience of the present generation with that of past generations. It is an account of seemingly endless chains of events, which are intertwined with distant echoes, rumours and mythology. In its history, humanity defines itself, finds its existential meaning and recognises the embrace of destiny.

Despite the knowledge of precise historical dates, names of kings, of politicians, important philosophers and artists, the writing of history is and will always remain a highly subjective matter. But our culture believes that the larger outline of historical knowledge is to be trusted as definitive, solidly unchangeable. The assumption that there is an objective, scientifically based history often affects the outcome of historical events themselves. Dogmatic assumptions of historical rights and wrongs can lead nations into social catastrophe, even war. Revolutions are made ‘to change the course of history’. Revolutionaries believe that they can turn the wheels of destiny; they re-write history the way they perceive it to be or the way they want it to be interpreted.

Nevertheless history tends to survive all attempts to force its spirit. Its natural current flows through small social groups like the family circle or the tribal unit; it is kept alive by the telling of stories, through poetry, traditional songs, through the handing on of skills, of books, objects and images. Such memory is the living source of history resistant to politically manipulated ‘historical truth’.

Stitched 18

‘RAGE, LOVE’S COLOR, LOVE, THE COLOR OF OBLIVION’ LUIS CERNUDA

Farhad Ahrarnia is an Iranian artist. The roots of his art lie in his sense of continuity – his

is no space for sentimentality. Portraits of legendary singers are reflections of cultural

memories are the source of his freedom. He combines in his work the latest digital production

constructs, like the popular image of Googosh. They are now after-images of celebrated

techniques with the ancient art of embroidery, which has been known in continental Europe

performances, resonating with the beauty of her songs, and the tenderness of her verses.

and parts of Asia for over two thousand years. It flourished in the Middle East and came to

The microphones that captured these songs are depicted in a set of separate images. They

special dominance in Persia. Practised by both men and women, it is one of the oldest form

are technical objects of their time, but are also emotionally charged; the means with which

of artistic activity; its accessibility and simplicity explains its widespread use in folk art

these precious voices were recorded and preserved.

and craft. It now re-appears in Ahrarnia’s work in an unexpectedly contemporary context.

A series of works show the changing faces of Colonel Ghaddafi of Libya, an internationally In craft tradition, style and skill of execution was, and still is, a signature of family identity

shunned leader for many years but seen in the region as a force of opposition to US

and cultural continuity. Used by the artist it is a sign of the assertion of this identity, the

hegemony. Isolation is the price of power. And there are images of soldiers, in which

mental and physical method of his spiritual search. It is also a means to get in touch

discipline, vulnerability and punishment embody conflicting values. The higher the rank, the

with a past that has been suppressed and a history that is still covered in silence. Farhad

greater the ambition, the more embellishment is required. This is even reflected in sharply

Ahrarnia’s generation realises that it has been deprived of its history; it wishes to regain its

coloured images of nature, of birds and flowers, on canvasses full of anxiety.

own position in history.

Ahrarnia uses found images from magazines and newspapers. He transfers them digitally

Stitched 20

Ahrarnia sees his work as a form of restitution, of healing past wrongs through art. He

in colour onto an embroiderer’s foundation fabric, which forms a grid in which 18 threads

salvages historical images, revered portraits of personalities now in disgrace. These

per inch cross each other and form a basic raster (a scan pattern). The square micro-

forgotten, even forbidden icons are mostly images of women. The artist attaches himself to

elements of digital picture reproduction, the basic picture points called pixels, are normally

a popular memory that remembers their former power, their legendary beauty, the charm

invisible, but are at times enlarged by the artist to provide an additional geometric layer

of their voices. Individuals may have been raised to a state of importance and fame; only

on the squared-up fabric. These two systems of co-ordinates, of textile and digital origin,

songs remain to tell the story of their fall. In the case of the image of the Iranian Empress,

provide the underlying geometric structure of the work. The artist follows these geometric

Farah Diba, it is not necessarily the memory of her reign, but the sense of ‘she belonged

overlays by modulating visual intensities and determining image areas that he wishes to

to us’ that prevails; in her time she was made a public icon until she was un-made. There

emphasise and enhance through embroidery.

21 Stitched

‘RAGE, LOVE’S COLOR, LOVE, THE COLOR OF OBLIVION’ LUIS CERNUDA

Farhad Ahrarnia is an Iranian artist. The roots of his art lie in his sense of continuity – his

is no space for sentimentality. Portraits of legendary singers are reflections of cultural

memories are the source of his freedom. He combines in his work the latest digital production

constructs, like the popular image of Googosh. They are now after-images of celebrated

techniques with the ancient art of embroidery, which has been known in continental Europe

performances, resonating with the beauty of her songs, and the tenderness of her verses.

and parts of Asia for over two thousand years. It flourished in the Middle East and came to

The microphones that captured these songs are depicted in a set of separate images. They

special dominance in Persia. Practised by both men and women, it is one of the oldest form

are technical objects of their time, but are also emotionally charged; the means with which

of artistic activity; its accessibility and simplicity explains its widespread use in folk art

these precious voices were recorded and preserved.

and craft. It now re-appears in Ahrarnia’s work in an unexpectedly contemporary context.

A series of works show the changing faces of Colonel Ghaddafi of Libya, an internationally In craft tradition, style and skill of execution was, and still is, a signature of family identity

shunned leader for many years but seen in the region as a force of opposition to US

and cultural continuity. Used by the artist it is a sign of the assertion of this identity, the

hegemony. Isolation is the price of power. And there are images of soldiers, in which

mental and physical method of his spiritual search. It is also a means to get in touch

discipline, vulnerability and punishment embody conflicting values. The higher the rank, the

with a past that has been suppressed and a history that is still covered in silence. Farhad

greater the ambition, the more embellishment is required. This is even reflected in sharply

Ahrarnia’s generation realises that it has been deprived of its history; it wishes to regain its

coloured images of nature, of birds and flowers, on canvasses full of anxiety.

own position in history.

Ahrarnia uses found images from magazines and newspapers. He transfers them digitally

Stitched 20

Ahrarnia sees his work as a form of restitution, of healing past wrongs through art. He

in colour onto an embroiderer’s foundation fabric, which forms a grid in which 18 threads

salvages historical images, revered portraits of personalities now in disgrace. These

per inch cross each other and form a basic raster (a scan pattern). The square micro-

forgotten, even forbidden icons are mostly images of women. The artist attaches himself to

elements of digital picture reproduction, the basic picture points called pixels, are normally

a popular memory that remembers their former power, their legendary beauty, the charm

invisible, but are at times enlarged by the artist to provide an additional geometric layer

of their voices. Individuals may have been raised to a state of importance and fame; only

on the squared-up fabric. These two systems of co-ordinates, of textile and digital origin,

songs remain to tell the story of their fall. In the case of the image of the Iranian Empress,

provide the underlying geometric structure of the work. The artist follows these geometric

Farah Diba, it is not necessarily the memory of her reign, but the sense of ‘she belonged

overlays by modulating visual intensities and determining image areas that he wishes to

to us’ that prevails; in her time she was made a public icon until she was un-made. There

emphasise and enhance through embroidery.

21 Stitched

Between the Lines, 106 x 97 cm, 2008

By adding embroidery, Ahrarnia re-vitalises these images. For him, stitching is an articulation of space and time, rather than a matter of aesthetics. Covering small sections of the images with stitches, he creates fields of colour, sets accents and marks to give them a tactile presence. He charges his images with a new energy and makes them real. He utilises the traditional technique of flat or looped stitch and converts it into a post-modern art strategy.

In most of his works he endeavours to leave traces of his technique and working procedure clearly visible; threads cross the canvas and needles puncture its surface. Tense or loose threads in various colours represent a linear set of connections, turning a web of lines into graphic devices that add an abstract dimension to an otherwise representative context.

The intervention by means of embroidery into an image of high memory value is the artist’s method of taking possession of it. Embroidery gives material substance and texture to otherwise flat images, which would without that intervention remain lifeless, unattached, unloved. The embroiderers’ slow work, the repeated action of stitching, has itself ritual connotations. Repetition enables meditation, focuses thoughts and emotional energies.

Here, at this point, stitch by stitch, the artist claims his birthright. He reinstates for himself and his peers his country’s collective memory.

Ahrarnia’s works, as gentle as they may appear, are in political terms acts of subversion, in personal terms acts of self-assertion. His art is a quiet monument to lost truth.

Lutz Becker, July 2008 Documentary film maker and independent curator

Stitched 22

Between the Lines, 106 x 97 cm, 2008

By adding embroidery, Ahrarnia re-vitalises these images. For him, stitching is an articulation of space and time, rather than a matter of aesthetics. Covering small sections of the images with stitches, he creates fields of colour, sets accents and marks to give them a tactile presence. He charges his images with a new energy and makes them real. He utilises the traditional technique of flat or looped stitch and converts it into a post-modern art strategy.

In most of his works he endeavours to leave traces of his technique and working procedure clearly visible; threads cross the canvas and needles puncture its surface. Tense or loose threads in various colours represent a linear set of connections, turning a web of lines into graphic devices that add an abstract dimension to an otherwise representative context.

The intervention by means of embroidery into an image of high memory value is the artist’s method of taking possession of it. Embroidery gives material substance and texture to otherwise flat images, which would without that intervention remain lifeless, unattached, unloved. The embroiderers’ slow work, the repeated action of stitching, has itself ritual connotations. Repetition enables meditation, focuses thoughts and emotional energies.

Here, at this point, stitch by stitch, the artist claims his birthright. He reinstates for himself and his peers his country’s collective memory.

Ahrarnia’s works, as gentle as they may appear, are in political terms acts of subversion, in personal terms acts of self-assertion. His art is a quiet monument to lost truth.

Lutz Becker, July 2008 Documentary film maker and independent curator

Stitched 22

Stitched, from the Bradford series, 29 x 24 cm, 2002-03

Stitched 24

25 Stitched

Stitched, from the Bradford series, 29 x 24 cm, 2002-03

Stitched 24

25 Stitched

US Soldier VI, 30 x 23 cm, 2008 | US Soldier II, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 | US Soldier IV, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 US Soldier VII, 30 x 23 cm, 2008 | US Soldier III, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 | US Soldier V, 30 x 23 cm, 2008

Stitched 26

US Soldier I, 35 x 28 cm, 2006-07

US Soldier VI, 30 x 23 cm, 2008 | US Soldier II, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 | US Soldier IV, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 US Soldier VII, 30 x 23 cm, 2008 | US Soldier III, 30 x 23 cm, 2006-07 | US Soldier V, 30 x 23 cm, 2008

Stitched 26

US Soldier I, 35 x 28 cm, 2006-07

Red BBC, 48 x 28 cm, 2008

Green NBC, 47 x 20 cm, 2008

29 Stitched

Red BBC, 48 x 28 cm, 2008

Green NBC, 47 x 20 cm, 2008

29 Stitched

Leila, Nafas, 14 x 19 cm, 2008 | Mitra, Red Lights, 15 x 19 cm, 2008 | Hediyeh, one Fith of the Moon, 43 x 51 cm, 2008 | Hediyeh, Magic Skin, 34 x 37 cm, 2008

Stitched 30

31 Stitched

Leila, Nafas, 14 x 19 cm, 2008 | Mitra, Red Lights, 15 x 19 cm, 2008 | Hediyeh, one Fith of the Moon, 43 x 51 cm, 2008 | Hediyeh, Magic Skin, 34 x 37 cm, 2008

Stitched 30

31 Stitched

The Colonnel, 42 x 34 cm, 2008

Biography Farhad ahrarnia

Farhad Ahrarnia was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1971. He graduated in 1997 from Sheffield Hallam University, England. He works in a wide range of media, including textile, photography and video.

Prior to his London debut – a solo exhibition at Leighton House (2008) – his solo shows included ‘Home’ at Besse Surtees House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and at the Shipley Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Museums, Gateshead (2004). Ahrarnia has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in the UK and internationally, most recently at Documenta XII, Germany (2007); the Sheffield Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2006); ‘Prelude’ at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford; ‘Palace & Mosque’ at the Islamic Arts Forum, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield (2006); ‘Art Sparkle’ at Leeds City Art Gallery; the touring exhibition, ‘Art Textiles 3’ (2004-2005); ‘Transformation’ at Manchester Museum; the touring exhibition, ‘Art of the Stitch’, at Hall Place, London, the Dutch Textile Museum, The Netherlands and The Williamson Art Gallery, Liverpool (2003-2004); ‘Home at Last’, at Harewood House Gallery, Leeds (2003); ‘One Landscape Many Views’, at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford (2003); the touring exhibition, ‘Tone’, at Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Bonington Art Gallery, Nottingham, and Impressions Gallery, York (2001-2003).

He currently lives and works between Shiraz and Sheffield.

33 Stitched

The Colonnel, 42 x 34 cm, 2008

Biography Farhad ahrarnia

Farhad Ahrarnia was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1971. He graduated in 1997 from Sheffield Hallam University, England. He works in a wide range of media, including textile, photography and video.

Prior to his London debut – a solo exhibition at Leighton House (2008) – his solo shows included ‘Home’ at Besse Surtees House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and at the Shipley Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Museums, Gateshead (2004). Ahrarnia has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in the UK and internationally, most recently at Documenta XII, Germany (2007); the Sheffield Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2006); ‘Prelude’ at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford; ‘Palace & Mosque’ at the Islamic Arts Forum, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield (2006); ‘Art Sparkle’ at Leeds City Art Gallery; the touring exhibition, ‘Art Textiles 3’ (2004-2005); ‘Transformation’ at Manchester Museum; the touring exhibition, ‘Art of the Stitch’, at Hall Place, London, the Dutch Textile Museum, The Netherlands and The Williamson Art Gallery, Liverpool (2003-2004); ‘Home at Last’, at Harewood House Gallery, Leeds (2003); ‘One Landscape Many Views’, at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford (2003); the touring exhibition, ‘Tone’, at Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Bonington Art Gallery, Nottingham, and Impressions Gallery, York (2001-2003).

He currently lives and works between Shiraz and Sheffield.

33 Stitched

Dar Boostan, 45 x 45 cm, 2008 | Bird of Baghdad, 20 x 14 cm, 2007 | Birds of Shiraz, 46 x 47 cm, 2008 | Dar Golestan, 39 x 51 cm, 2008

Stitched 18

35 Stitched

Dar Boostan, 45 x 45 cm, 2008 | Bird of Baghdad, 20 x 14 cm, 2007 | Birds of Shiraz, 46 x 47 cm, 2008 | Dar Golestan, 39 x 51 cm, 2008

Stitched 18

35 Stitched

I Love Baghdad, 20 x 14 cm, 2006

Š Farhad Ahrarnia and Beyond Art Productions, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9559515-1-0 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

All works are digital photography on cotton aida and embroidered. All illustrated full page images are slightly cropped.

Editor & Curator Rose Issa Co-Curator Juliet Cestar Deputy Editor Francesca Ricci Design Normal Industries Copy Editor Katia Hadidian Printing Crossgate Press Special thanks to all the lenders Published by

I Love Baghdad, 20 x 14 cm, 2006

Š Farhad Ahrarnia and Beyond Art Productions, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9559515-1-0 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

All works are digital photography on cotton aida and embroidered. All illustrated full page images are slightly cropped.

Editor & Curator Rose Issa Co-Curator Juliet Cestar Deputy Editor Francesca Ricci Design Normal Industries Copy Editor Katia Hadidian Printing Crossgate Press Special thanks to all the lenders Published by

The Roots of a Scream, 36 x 30 cm, 2008

Artist Farhad Ahrarnia was born in Shiraz, Iran and now lives in the UK. The publication of this catalogue celebrates his first solo exhibition in London, curated by Rose Issa, at Leighton House Museum, summer 2008.

Stitched Farhad Ahrarnia