Essay by Rober Jason Fagan

Intuition, or an enigmatic knowledge of something in the process or revelation, is a driving force behind Roya Farassat’s sculptural forms. These objects are at once witty and threatening. They want to be handled or manipulated in some way but seem to beckon us to stay away, at least at arm’s length; some even have the teeth to prove it. Like other artists in the exhibition, Farassat is well-acquainted with the ambiguity of cultural identity, having experienced life in both the Middle East and the West. She writes of thoughts that have that been obscured by the demands of those more assertive and immediate, of some necessary part of the self, formed by emotions and situations that lay behind, unrevealed, over ground that was covered once but must be retraced.

Is it the complexity of the self and life in general that leaves us with these paradoxes of welded steel? Do these objects have the power to sustain themselves in the event of our neglect or departure, or is there a call for involvement and analysis beneath the rough surface, beyond the pang of uneasiness delivered by their aggressive posturing? What is immediate and unwavering is the power contained in each, the sense of weight and the unpredictable