That Lost Folio Vol. II

Pond is ecstatic to present our third exhibition, That Lost Folio Vol. II, by Iranian-born, mixed-media artist, Ziba Rajabi. Having spent six years living, working, and teaching in Northwest Arkansas, Rajabi’s solo exhibition at Pond is a culmination of ideas and processes developed during her period of extensive research here in Fayetteville. First iterated earlier this year at the University of Minnesota, That Lost Folio Vol. II is the continuation of an installation-based project containing over 350 drawings exploring the complex history of Persian art and Iranian architecture. 
In the Golestān Palace of Tehran, there is a tiled wall that, unlike the other carefully preserved architectural elements of the Palace, has been repaired ad hoc with mismatched tiles of random size and design. Rather than feeling artifactual, the resourceful and improvisational restoration has lent this wall a playful, in-progress, and even “glitched” aesthetic. Rajabi claims that this wall does not feel old, but “speaks to viewers with contemporary slang.”
During the late Safavid dynasty, European expeditions into Iran resulted in the exploitation and exportation of valuable cultural artifacts, including countless masterfully illustrated books. The pages of these books were torn from their spines and scattered across Europe by collectors, leaving their contents lost to Iran forever. Using the wall at Golestān Palace as inspiration for her installation, That Lost Folio Vol. II is Rajabi’s metaphorical reclamation of lost Iranian culture which, due to theft and displacement, continues to disappear. By reassembling her own wall of fractured narratives, Rajabi creates a repaired history told with the power of lived experience.

*From exhibition text written by Taylor Loftin, Fall 2024, Fayetteville, AR

Please click on the images to see the large-size photo.