Happy New Year from your friends at AUTOMAT. We are on a short winter hiatus from regular programming but are pleased to present some guest exhibitions as we start 2023!

 

First up is Elegy For a Latent Grief, a new body by work by Iranian-American artist Shaina Nasrin presented by the collective Batikh Batikh. Through photographs and videos, Nasrin explores the intergenerational trauma and the intricacies of familial relationships. Building on the visual language of Iran, imagery like the tulip, is woven through the photographs as a metaphor.

 

Nasrin says of the work “Tulips are seen as a symbol of martyrdom in Iran; one of the most prominent symbols of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and more recently reimagined as a symbol of rebellion towards the current regime. A portrait following my mother in a field of tulips contemplates that turning point, acknowledging the sacrifices Iranian women have made for their freedom of choice.”

 

Elegy For a Latent Grief is on view until January 14th with open gallery hours on Saturday’s from 12-5 and a closing reception on Thursday January 12 from 6-9. 

 

Batikh Batikh is a pop-up cinema and gallery that centers SWANA (South West Asian North African) women and queer artists. Founded by Lebanese-American artist and curator, Sarah Trad, BB focuses on bringing SWANA films to Philadelphia and helping local queer and women artists acquire resources for solo exhibitions at rented spaces. Based on an anti-capitalist art model, where all art is free to the public with featured artists paid, these screenings and exhibitions will provide programming that showcases SWANA and queer joy outside the Western gaze. Batikh Batikh also hosts fundraiser events for mutual aid in the region and its diaspora. We Take Care of Each Other - نهتم ببعضنا البعض

 

Shaina Nasrin is an Iranian-American artist working in photography and video. Through an autobiographical lens, their art practice examines facets of identity in relation to notions of ritual, grief and complexities of home space. They graduated from The University of the Arts with a BFA in Photography + Film Media in 2018. Most recently, their work has been shown at The Delaplaine Arts Center (Frederick, MD), where they were awarded Second Place Prize in the 2022 National Juried Photography Exhibition. Shaina’s work has also been exhibited at New York University (Washington, D.C.), The Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta, GA), Little Berlin (Philadelphia, PA), and Peters Valley School of Craft (Layton, NJ), among others.