Ramin and Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian
APT8
Ramin Haerizadeh
Born 1975, Tehran, Iran
Rokni Haerizadeh
Born 1978, Tehran, Iran
Hesam Rahmanian
Born 1980, Knoxville, Usa
Live and work in Dubai, UAE
Ramin Haerizadeh / Iran/UAE b.1975 / Rokni Haerizadeh / Iran/UAE b.1978 / Hesam Rahmanian / USA/UAE b.1980 / Chai-e Iran 2013–14 / Video, 16:9, 26:39 minutes, colour, sound / Image courtesy: The artists and Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai / © The artists
Ramin and Rokni Haerizadeh are brothers who collaborate with Hesam Rahmanian to construct provocative installations that challenge conventional modes of display and standards of value. Persian street-theatre or Ta'ziyeh is a particularly important influence on their practice, with its use of props, theatricality, cross-dressing and irony. In the their installation "All The Rivers Run Into The Sea. Over." / "Copy. Yet, The Sea Is Not Full. Over." 2015 they recreate a version of their Dubai home studio, with their own and other artists' works, found objects and bric-a-brac displayed in an over-the-top, domesticised installation that occupies and consumes the space of the gallery, blurring the boundaries between art and life. Every inch of the room is covered, including walls and floors, with no concern for hierarchy and preciousness. Their medley of influences ranges from satirical folk theatre, illuminated manuscripts, miniature painting and Persian poetry, to modernist art and pop culture.
"All The Rivers Run Into The Sea. Over." / "Copy. Yet, The Sea Is Not Full. Over." 2015 installed in QAG's Gallery 3 for APT8, 2015 / Photograph: Natasha Harth, QAGOMA / © The artists