Mohammad Reza Khalaji – Social creatures – n°930

Born in 1974 in Tehran, Iran Education Graduate in Visual Communication Member of Institute for promotion of visual arts. Selected Group Exhibitions 2018 - Pure Drawing Museum, Tehran 2017 - Shokoh Art Gallery, Tehran 2017 - Chahar Art Gallery, Tehran 2016 - Laleh Art Gallery, Tehran 2015 - Kamal Art Gallery, Alborz 2006 - Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art 2001 - Tehran Museum of Contem- porary Art 2000 - Tehran Youth Visual Arts Festival

« Social Creature » « Human being is a social creature and what we call a ‘society’ is not a mere gathering of human individuals, but a sum of many conventions and social contracts which have changed greatly through history. Traditions and the cultures arising from them –which were in turn the result of the initial conventions- have generated secondary sets of conventions, and gradually have structured the present-day social systems. Tradition, in general, has always challenged human being with unre- turned questions. This comes as no surprise, as tradition basically imperative rather than responsive in a universal manner. Thus, the social systems heavily relying on such traditions greatly tend to homogenize the individuals in communities, devising a uniform template for everyone and perpetuate is as an ideal prototype. In such a circumstances, to follow such a template is valued in itself, in the expense of the individuality and distinctive quality of every single person. However, human beings are inherently motivated to maintain their personal, unique character; and no matter how much they are rewarded to submit to the overarching communal template, they by-pass it inevitably to follow their individual track. It seems that if their both feet are tied to follow the customary path, they will grow a third foot to escape it. Mohammadreza Khalaji’s sculptures personify such escaping alterna- tive individual, bearing all the marks of the dominant template. The bodies are reduced to legs, and the third leg’s vague existence resonate the tendency to derogate the limits of the cast. However, none of these bodies has the chance to escape this imposed prototype. Man and woman, standing or fallen, upright or upside down, are all captive in a fixed, inflexible cast which –with reference to a flamboyant tradition and culture- does not provide any answer or alternative; it simply issued a verdict and considers it as binding.» Zarvan Roohbakhshan