Navid Azimi Sajadi – CFPR Editions

Navid Azimi Sajadi was born in Tehran, Iran, 1982. He gained a Bachelor of Art in painting from Tehran Art and Architecture University in 2005. The same year he moved to Rome. In Italy he graduated from Accademia di Belli Arti di Roma, in 2009. He was awarded the Amedeo Modigliani Foundation prize in 2009. He gained his Master of Fine Art in Multimedia Sculpture in 2013 from Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, and in the same year was invited to the 9th Shanghai Biennale. Navid’s work reviews his experience in-between two cultures, dealing with cross-cultural codes. He has developed an esoteric language of signs and symbols from multiple mythologies and histories. Navid aims to manipulate and play with the pre-prescribed meanings of images, forms and memories, creating a metaphorical landscape where viewers can attach a wide array of significance to indicators of time and space.
Put simply, his work gives a visual glimpse of a crossroad where present day events meet the past and ancient cults. His installations are based on a reading of “ambivalence” that has been transformed to become a shape that can be demystified only by taking into account one’s presuppositions —in other words, the viewer is to “read into” the work, rather than extract meaning from it in an objective manner. Each individual element is laden with meaning, coalescing to represent today’s society as Navid perceives it. His reading of “ambivalence” does not merely reflect a psychological state but aims to be an aggregation of all possible states.

Navid is based in Rome and Tehran. His works are in permanent collections of many prestigious institutions such as the Getty centre collection, LA, USA; EMAAR Collection (Foundry), Dubai, UAE; Bilotti Museum of Contemporary Art, Rende, Italy; Cosenza Museum of Contemporary Art, Cosenza; AGI Verona; Hitay Holding collection, Istanbul; Morhaim Collection, Istanbul; Khadjavi collection, NY; BIC Lazio,Rome, BUHL and Amin, NY, Museo delle periferie, Roma.

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Whilst in residence at the Centre for Print Research, Navid will initially focus on exploring the possibilities and facilities to achieve new aspects in his work and transcend the traditional methods of production previously used. One of Navid’s main concerns is with how to find an interface between the technical prowess the lab offers and the poetic expression achieved through creative processes and artistic approaches. Navid is confident that the technical possibilities offered at the lab will have a great impact on his artistic thought and creative approaches, as well as on his language, style, expression and aesthetics.

For Navid, a key aspect of the residency would be becoming familiar with the process of three-dimensional ceramic printing. This technology offers so many new possibilities and Navid is looking forward to gaining experience and insight into its potentials. He will also work with the traditional print team and aim to combine these traditional practices with the state-of-the-art techniques of 3D ceramic printing.

Navid aims to create several ‘pages’ and ‘objects’ during the residency that are both final artworks, as well as documentations of the processes, and would eventually be bound into a handmade booklet, created in a limited run of twenty editions. This would be the culmination of how the contemporary world and its technologies relate to the more traditional methods of artistic creation. Moreover, it would be something that shows the collaboration between CFPR staff and the artist, and how this collaboration has resulted in novel daily experiences and encounters. As such a project would only be possible within the context of this lab and residency, Navid hopes to be able to document and creatively express his personal experiences as well as the rich collaborations he hopes to experience. Based on the equipment and knowledge Navid encounters at the lab, he wishes to form the booklet into a wearable jacket-like piece, worn by a narrator, who would then create a performance, retelling experiences of the residency. Navid perceives this as an opportunity to explore new narrative techniques.