Tagiauē (2014) by Léuli Eshrāghi

Tagiauē Exhibition, 21 June-25 July 2014 Neospace

Drawing on Iranian gabbeh/carpet and Sāmoan siapo/barkcloth aesthetic forms, new bright works on paper and textile reference transnational mourning and cultural memory. Tagiauē places Persian mourning practices in Birrarung-ga, in the arrangement of motifs and incorporation of rose water, food and song in the gallery space and opening event.

The works communicate grief and loss relating to the artist’s Persian grandmother, grandfather and aunt, killed under tragic circumstances for their beliefs in 1983. Following the recent desecration of their graves by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the exhibition constructs a temporary resting place, a liminal space, bearing witness to hidden histories, concealed traumas, and a practice of inhabiting and honouring silence.

By Léuli Eshrāghi, Grandson