Phantom Matter brings together the sculpture series Cornered Fragmented Body and the VR video The Binding to explore the fragmented body as a site of memory, rupture, and survival. Across sculptural and virtual spaces, the exhibition reflects on how violence -particularly that which is rooted in power relations- echoes through generations, shaping both individual and collective experience. Detached limbs become autonomous forms, no longer requiring a whole to assert their weight, agency, or vulnerability. Subtly installed on cement-covered bases that echo urban surfaces, the sculptures nearly dissolve into their environment, suggesting silent persistence and hinting at their potential placement in public space. In The Binding, this tension is amplified through a voiceover recounting stories drawn from mythology, religion, and historical events in which fathers killed their sons in acts driven by power, ideology, fear, or belief. Navigating the space between presence and absence, Phantom Matter traces the silent residues of trauma and resistance that persist across bodies and time.
Zahara Zavareh
The VR video includes a Farsi voiceover, while the English translation of the voiceover is projected as text on the wall
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- Why did he eat his child(1)?
- Because he thought the child would kill him first… No, he didn’t eat him. He tore him apart and threw him in the trash(2).
- No way! You’re confused. That was someone else. You’ve got all your stories mixed up.
- Which one are you talking about? What did he do? Are we talking about the one who didn’t like his kids, hated them, and hid them in Earth(3)? No, no, wait... Sorry, that’s the one who, as soon as he saw his son, said: "Why does he look like that? This child is the spawn of a demon! A disgrace! Leave him in the wilderness(4)!"
- Not that one. The one you’re talking about was the one who got angry, snapped, and hit his son on the head with a sceptre… killed him(5). Later he was walking around muttering to himself: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son(6)."
- Hmm... Who’s confused now? That’s another story! There was the one who prayed for his son to die because he was distracting him(7). I think that’s the one you mean! Oh, wait! Maybe you’re talking about the famous one who chickened out during a fight, realizing he was losing, and killed his son the next day(8)! Or no, he blinded him first(9)—had him blinded(10)—then killed him! Anyway, my point is, he didn’t eat him!
- So what happens now?
- Nothing. The son has to do something if he wants to survive… to live!
- Are you nuts?! What could he do? The whole point is he can’t do anything! He’s broken, ruined! You didn’t see… You didn’t hear him saying: "My father gave me to death! Seek my blood from him(11)!"
- Hmm... Yeah... You’re right… Well, God always sides with the fathers anyway!
- Yeah.
Footnotes:
1. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Cronus (Saturn) devoured each of his children immediately after their birth, fearing a prophecy that one of them would overthrow him.
2. The tragic case of Babak Khorramdin, an Iranian filmmaker, is a recent and shocking incident. His father, Akbar Khorramdin, claimed that his son had been a disruptive force in the family, citing conflicts related to sexual behavior and other personal issues. After a series of arguments, Akbar, with the help of his wife, decided to murder their son. They drugged him with sleeping pills, and once he was unconscious, the father killed him with a knife and machete. The couple then dismembered his body and disposed of it in several trash bins. This horrifying act came to light in 2021 when the police discovered Babak's remains in a dumpster.
3. In Hesiod's Theogony, the primordial figure Uranus (the Sky) hides his children inside the Earth (Gaia) to prevent them from gaining power.
4. In the Shahnameh, the epic poem by Ferdowsi, Sam, initially repulsed by his son due to his unusual appearance (he was born with white hair, which was seen as a bad omen), abandons him in the desert, intending to let him die.
5. Ivan the Terrible beat his pregnant daughter-in-law, which led to a miscarriage. Upon learning of this, his son confronted him, and their heated argument escalated, resulting in the fatal blow. He struck his son on the head with his sceptre, inadvertently killing him.
6. The reference to Genesis 22:8, in which Abraham, preparing to sacrifice his son in obedience to God's command, declares, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." In a similar context, it is reported that Ivan the Terrible, after tragically killing his own son, uttered these words and descended into madness.
7. Ibrahim Adham, a revered Sufi figure, prayed to God to take his son away from his life, believing that his deep attachment to him was a distraction from achieving complete devotion to God. He viewed this emotional bond as an obstacle in his quest for spiritual purity and full submission to the divine. (Tazkira al-Awliya)
8. Rostam, the legendary Iranian hero, unknowingly fought his own son in a battle. During the first encounter, his son gained the upper hand and appeared to win the battle. However, instead of delivering a fatal blow, he spared his father. Rostam suggested they continue the fight the next day, in the spirit of fair competition and to give the fighter a chance to regroup. In the subsequent battle, his son was tragically killed by him.
9. After surviving a failed assassination attempt, Nader Shah became suspicious of his son. He ordered that his son's eyes be brought to him, fearing betrayal.
10. Shah Abbas I of the Safavid Empire blinded one of his sons due to suspicions of treason. The blinding was meant to disqualify him from succeeding to the throne. He also ordered another son to be killed in a hammam.
11. Convinced that his son’s death is inevitable, despite the prophecy, Goshtasb uses his son’s life for his own purposes, sending him to a doomed war. When another son learns of the circumstances surrounding his brother's death, he is told to seek revenge from their father, Goshtasb (Shahnameh).