Morvarid Alavifard
Pearl(مروارید)
This project aimed to reflect on myself and portray my identity through materials. I find it interesting to explore the meanings and messages that names and words bring to our personalities. Our names are the first things that shape our identities. In Persian, my name means "pearl," and I have experienced being labelled or burdened by the description of my name, leading to objectification that I wish to explore.
Additionally, my cultural upbringing surrounding gold has influenced me. As a woman, I grew up believing that owning gold or golden jewellery would provide financial security and freedom. Now, as a maker, when I work with these materials, they reflect me and hold my narrative within them.
The process of creating this project has taken me on a long journey. I've used gold, silver, and pewter to explore different ways to process them. Using charcoal as a material has allowed me to challenge the value associated with gold and pearl, creating displays that reflect this exploration.
This project has resulted in a series of works, some made with silver, some with gold, and some with pewter, each with different shapes and forms. Working with pewter, although it has low material value, has been fascinating. It forms a protective setting for the pearl, demonstrating how materials interact with each other. Conversely, gold and silver, despite their nobility, are vulnerable to damage.
The audience can interact with the pearl installation, and everyone will have different reactions, thoughts, and ideas based on their own cultural backgrounds. While most of my work is about me and my personal experiences, I also believe in the impact of my surroundings on me and vice versa. I want people to interact with my work, create their own stories, and relate to me in their own ways
The following written piece was my way of expressing this project:
Pearl Being Valuable, Being Pure, being perfect, being pearl is something have been pressured to me to be. The pressure that the value was in gold and pearl could buy my power and freedom and give me safety.
This pressure got away my freedom, got away my power, got away my value, objectify me and creates pain. But where is my real freedom? Do I need to choose between my freedom and my safety? What shall I do with this conflict?
This pain has layers and layers and would never leave me, but if I leave it as it is. it was never repaired. This Repairing is by destruction. They might say destruction is the way of destroying or is the way of showing anger and hates or whatsoever and I agree but on a deep level, destruction is creation. Without destroying I cannot see the beauty, because the beauty is in the moments and in the details. When you destroy something maybe it causes it to disappear physically, but they create a moment of consciousness, the moment of leaving something behind and affected the moment of creation.
In the moment that I've been heated, it takes time to be released and be vulnerable, but layers and layers show off. The moment of vulnerability creates this dramatic explosion and realises all the hidden shout. The shout shows all the layers inside me, and it keeps peeling off.
Layers were there and will be there but at least they have been seen. They never disappeared because they create flakes and leave the shine behind, and it leaves memories and experiences.
This series of works is about Pearl the object you see and me ''Morvarid (Meaning Pearl in Persian)''. It is about repairing by destruction, challenging value, and creating a moment of consciousness.
Process of burning pearl necklace
Pewter, Pearl, Charcoal.
Casted silver, pearl, and charcoal.
Picture of this collection is a collaboration with Misia-O' ©2022 www.misia-o.com @misiaophotography
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