Tanavoli, Parviz

The “letter H” in this work’s title refers to the Persian word heech, whose head is visible inside the sculpture’s cage. Although heech literally means “nothing,” Tanavoli does not intend to express despair or existential emptiness. Instead, he views heech—one of his favorite motifs—as synonymous with creativity, and employs its signifier to explore his conceptual interest in the existence of nonexistence. According to Tanavoli’s longtime friend Kamran Diba, heech is an “abstract idea from his subconscious, an artistic ploy, a twisted form that attracted him. This figurative non-figuration simply drew him in.”