Following the intensive live performance, the project culminated in a group exhibition held on Friday, June 19, 2026, at Bostan Art Gallery. This exhibition showcased the final bodies of work developed by the artists throughout the week. My display featured a meticulous installation consisting of three miniature paper-cut trees alongside an accordion fold tree series. Placed within the gallery space, these delicate, layered structures extended the core concept of the performance transforming the ephemeral energy of the 12-hour duration into tangible, permanent monuments of survival, shadow, and silent resilience.

The 12-Hour Journey
On June 15, 2026, this 12-hour durational live performance unfolded as an immersive and meditative experience at Bostan art Gallery. Throughout the continuous 12 hours, the gallery space transformed into a site of raw creation, where every single line, botanical form, and figure was carved in real-time. Operating under the constraints of time and the uncompromising nature of the medium, the blade became an extension of the hand, slowly transforming a massive expanse of black paper into a delicate, breathing ecosystem of shadows and light.
The Audience Connection
A defining element of the performance was the profound and visceral connection with the audience. Rather than being passive observers, the visitors became an essential part of the space’s energy. The silent dialogue, shared atmosphere, and immediate feedback from the public were deeply positive and meaningful, feeding directly into the rhythm of the creation. Their presence amplified the communal weight of patience and endurance, making the act of carving not just a personal ritual, but a shared experience of watching life emerge from the dark.

Artist Statement
This performance is an encounter with darkness, incision, and the authenticity of endurance. In the tension between the sharp blade and the stark presence of black paper, forms are not drawn, but rather born through the act of elimination carved out of the void. Every cut becomes a manifestation of hidden light, extracted from the very heart of absolute night. Amidst this, the magic of the piece lies in the softness of the shadows that awaken with the passage of time, rendering the secrets of these hidden layers visible. Here, the incision is no longer a mark of destruction, but a decisive geometry creating a brand-new presence.
“The Lone Root, Last Trace of a Tree That Fled” explores the profound paradox between evasion and permanence. While the tree the classic symbol of stability and stillness chooses the path of flight and suspension, it is this slender, concealed root that bears the weight of steadfastness and an unyielding anchorage to the earth. This lone root is the visceral embodiment of the final thread of connection, the ultimate sanctuary of hope; a fiber so fragile and miniature that it seems poised to snap at any moment in the momentum of this departure, yet so stubborn and proud that on the precipice of letting go, it keeps the entire universe of the piece resolutely standing.

This artwork explores the concept of “The First Other” through the profound lens of birth, origin, and existential attachment. For a child, the mother represents the very first identity recognized outside of the self. Utilizing the meticulous and visceral technique of multi-layered papercutting, the piece visually metaphorizes the severing of the umbilical cord an act that simultaneously marks physical separation and the beginning of an eternal, subcutaneous bond.

“Out of Frame” rethinks the definition of the “frame” as a psychological and physical threshold between the interior and the exterior. In this exhibition, the frame is liberated from being a mere peripheral structure; it becomes an intrinsic extension of the artwork’s expression and identity. Each participating artist has uniquely crafted both the artwork and its frame, cultivating a deep conceptual and aesthetic dialogue between the two. This group illustration exhibition, curated by Mahboobeh Yazdani and Pedram Kazerooni, is held at Shirin Gallery from June 12 to July 10, 2026.