Ala Ebtekar

Ala Ebtekar’s work can be characterised by the phrase ‘shedding light’. The media employed by Ebtekar is varied, with the artist working in photography, drawing, collage, painting, ceramics, text and installation. His practice extends even further to bookmaking, the illumination of manuscripts, and Iranian coffeehouse painting. Ebtekar investigates and interprets the possibilities of the universe and cosmology and is interested in notions of time and space that extend beyond the human experience and timeline, such as cosmic travel, and understanding and rearticulating the phenomenology of light. Not only does Ebtekar examine the concept of light, but he also uses it as medium. He considers celestial bodies as his collaborators, using UV-light from the sun, as well as moonlight and starlight, creating images from nightlong, durational exposures. Through the process of looking outward, the artist questions contemporary moments’ importance, or non-importance, within the vast context of the universe.