In this series, entitled “Birdhead”, I took inspiration from the writings of Bijan Najdi, in which he states “I cut off a bird’s head and concealed it, wanting the reader to gaze at the intensified movements and seizures of its body, wings, and feet; moments before the bird meets death and finds its movement in a state of repose, an instant of heightened fusion with life, in close vicinity of death …” and just as he did, I considered no beginning or end for my paintings.
The images in Najdi’s stories are so vivid that the reader can clearly imagine every scene in their mind, envisioning birds that constantly collide with their surroundings, thus making their presence felt.
On the other hand, through my passion for literature, theater, and painting, I found his stories to be first-hand accounts that link these three fields by setting scenes of interaction between the protagonists, as in real life, scenes whose constant presence renders them invisible and which poetically depict my state of mind.

Atefeh Namavar
Summer 2021