Morehshin Allahyari | Material Speculations: ISIS | 2015–2016 03.12.2016 – 05.02.2017 | online

SITUATION #57

“Priest with Eagle”, 3D printed resin and electronic components, 2016 © Morehshin Allahyari, Courtesy Upfor Gallery, Portland
“Lamassu”, 3D model, 2016 © Morehshin Allahyari, Courtesy Upfor Gallery, Portland
Morehshin Allahyari, Material Speculations: ISIS, 2015–2016, SITUATION #57, SITUATIONS/Re-enactment, installation view at Fotomuseum Winterthur, 2017 © Philipp Ottendörfer
Morehshin Allahyari, Material Speculations: ISIS, 2015–2016, SITUATION #57, SITUATIONS/Re-enactment, installation view at Fotomuseum Winterthur, 2017 © Philipp Ottendörfer

Morehshin Allahyari uses 3D printing technology as a tool for alternative artifact archiving, as well as a means of political resistance and documentation. In her series Material Speculations: ISIS she reconstructs selected artifacts of historical value that were destroyed by ISIS in 2015. After collecting and researching vast numbers of images and documents of the destroyed objects, she is able to recreate and print a 3D model of the artifact. Photographs, documents, maps and videos are all instrumental in the process of re-building, allowing the artist to create an image that cannot cease to exist, but is infinitely reproducible. All documentation gathered by the artist about the destroyed artifact is saved onto a flash drive embedded in the 3D-printed work. Material Speculations redefines notions of materiality, forcing us to rethink the concept of monument and challenging ideas of irreproducibility of the historical image. Finally, Material Speculations is an exploration of the political and poetic relationship between 3D printing, plastic, oil, technocapitalism and jihad.

For SITUATIONS/Re-enactment the work was presented in its physical form at Fotomuseum Winterthur and simultaneously hosted on the Link Cabinet, where the artist shared all digital files and models from the project, allowing users freely to access and download all data.


More by Morehshin Allahyari: morehshin.com

A cooperation with the Link Art Center.