Narges Porsandekhial

On Repetition

Narges Porsandekhial (she/her) is an emerging Persian polydisciplinary creator and writer with a BA in Handicrafts and an MFA from University of Saskatchewan. Her work spans installation, socially engaged practices, public art, text-based projects, and  research-creation. She wishes to

draw parallels between art and research and embrace how they cohabit, similar to art and daily life. She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally and also serves as a cultural worker.

While it could be implied that everything has been said before, we still yearn to find new ways to enter into conversation and address key concerns and concepts anew. It is this repetition that both bores and excites me. In seeking a connection within the repetition of daily life, I aim to create a familiar condition that welcomes anyone, regardless of their positionality. I believe that art should not be exclusive, a luxurious object or activity that only a certain group can relate to. It is undeniable that I will always have a personal narrative that may be best executed in a white cube gallery space – I welcome that side of my works with open arms. But my main area of focus and interest at this time is to enter the realm of the social. In their emphasis on the importance of access to art, socially engaged practices and public art best serve my intentions. Through removing any physical or monetary barrier to the experience of art, these fields often exist beyond institutions and invite the new relationships I seek in the repositioning of the mundane and everyday.

In my practice, the extrarational process of developing an idea determines the most suitable material and medium, varying from installation to text-based work, mixed media, and/or social practices. What fascinates me most is creating the conditions for an experience to happen by removing the artist’s direct presence in the artwork, while focusing on interpersonal/intrapersonal interactions, social and political practices, and mental health issues, each as a form of inherent institutional critique.

Absence, for me, is not simply the absence of something or someone. It is the space from which meaning emerges, the silence that speaks volumes. In my work, the void is as important as the object—it is a presence that evokes memory, a portal through which the past and present collide. It’s in the absence of a home, a language, or a place, that the most profound conversations unfold. Through memory, we stitch together the lost pieces, and in that process, we are partially healed and but never made whole. Though my work often stems from personal experiences of displacement, loss, and isolation, I seek to make those stories universally relatable. Through the act of exposing my vulnerability and the intimate struggles of my past, I invite the audience to see themselves in my experiences, recognizing common threads in the tapestry of human emotion and social struggle. My narrative becomes a shared language, and in that space, the individual and the collective meet.

I am fascinated by how the most mundane, everyday objects can be transformed into carriers of meaning. Whether it’s keychains, the delicate gesture of handwritten words, or the familiar texture of a well-worn letter, each material is chosen not only for its symbolic potential but for the tactile connection it invites. The transformation of these materials becomes a metaphor for the act of remembering, of turning the ordinary into something beyond.

In many ways, I see the audience not as passive viewers but as collaborators in the creation of my work. The act of engagement—whether taking a letter, leaving a thought, or simply reflecting on a piece—is an integral part of my practice itself. The work is incomplete without their interaction, their participation. This dynamic relationship turns the art into something organic and ever-evolving, existing not just in the gallery space but within the lives of those who encounter it.

Repetition is central to my practice—it’s a way of echoing the rhythms of everyday life, a gesture that seeks to find meaning in the seemingly mundane. Through repetition, I create a space where the familiar becomes calming and reassuring. Each repeated action, word, or object adds layers of significance, not just for me, but for anyone who encounters it. It is through this ongoing repetition that the work becomes a mirror, reflecting back the recurring themes of connection, loss, and the comfort found in the simplest acts of living.