Kamrooz Aram, Josephine and the Architect (detail), 2017
274.32 x 147.32 cm (painting), 129.54 x 23 x 23 cm (pedastal)
Other Hours
Curated by Phoebe d'Heurle and Maryam Hoseini
This show originated from a bureaucratic rule.
We were living in an apartment of 70 square meters, but one year after moving in the restrictions for welfare recipients changed. A notice arrived that a 12 square meter portion of our apartment was required to remain empty. We had to drag our rug into the center of the room, push the couch two meters to the left so that it touched the dresser. We came up with variations of how to divide the living room so that at least 12 meters square were left bare. Sometimes we'd move the dresser so that it abutted an empty space in front of the window. Sometimes the armchair would touch the radiator. A woman came around in the off hours to police our use of the space. As she declared, it was unfair that we even had the idea of those extra meters.
But as one of the Conceptualists still says, I've never seen an idea.