The Seventh Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

PARASTOU FOROUHAR Iran/Germany b.1962 Duck from Persian for Beginners (detail) 1997–ongoing Courtesy: The artist PARASTOU FOROUHAR Persian for kids 2012 Persian for Beginners is a series of calligraphic drawings that I started in 1997 when I was a member of a German-based artist collective. I increasingly became the ‘Iranian’ in the group . . . a challenge accompanied by feelings of both affiliation and strangeness. I have tried to distil this ambiguity in my work and use it as a source of creativity. Looking at these drawings, the first thing you notice is the figure of an animal. Closer inspection reveals that it has been created from script: a single repeated word (the name of the animal) written in Farsi, the Persian language. This series follows the tradition of zoomorphic calligraphy, which established itself relatively late in Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost some of their power. Parastou Forouhar Persian for kids is a multimedia activity complementing Forouhar’s ongoing print series Persian for Beginners . In keeping with the Islamic calligraphic tradition and the artist’s methods of working, players can manipulate the Farsi script and animal silhouettes on multimedia tablets to create their own zoomorphic images. A custom-designed multimedia program allows participants to watch their Farsi creature become animated, and the creature can then be shared with friends and family via email and social media. Screening in the gallery space is the artist’s own animation — an idyllic scene of zoomorphic images in a wilderness also created from Farsi script. UJI HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO (aka HAHAN) Indonesia b.1983 above Children’s workshop, Memento masko 2012 Photograph: Mark Sherwood following page Keluarga adalah selamanya ( Family is forever ) (detail) 2012 as part of Memento masko 2012 UJI HANDOKO EKO SAPUTRO (aka HAHAN) Memento masko 2012 Uji Handoko Eko Saputro (aka Hahan) is part of a young generation of Indonesian artists greatly influenced by popular culture and underground comics. Hahan’s project for Kids’ APT7 centres on the themes of family and childhood. Inspired by Indonesian mask- making traditions, Hahan has created a series of black and white mask templates that children can complete by adding their own facial expressions. The mask-making activity is set in a space with a wall-to-wall mural depicting an idealised family portrait. The scene, populated by eyes and mouths that animate the landscape, provides a sense of watchfulness and benevolence. Hahan has also included symbols to signify tranquility, prosperity and good fortune. Together, the mural and the mask activity make a fitting tribute to family life and the role of raising children, with participants able to reflect on the significance of their loved ones. 271