Shirin Sabahi: 

pika pika

4 - 25 Nov, 2023

Goya Curtain presents pika pika, an exhibition by Berlin-based artist Shirin Sabahi.

pika pika ピカピカ is a Japanese onomatopoeic expression that broadly translates as a combination of “shine” and “flicker.” In this show, repetition, reflections, and refractions of light transform the exhibition space throughout the day and are echoed in the photographic, sculptural, and spatial works on display. The installation revisits Goya Curtain’s history in the form of an ongoing series of works that Sabahi started in 2016 at Goya’s first address in Naka-Meguro, Tokyo. In the current iteration, transparent film is installed directly on the windows, its pattern being an inversion of the motif of tape securing glass in the event of typhoons, earthquakes, and wars. In other works, reversals and shadows appear in associative images and forms that are reminiscent of landscapes, communal architecture, and interiors. To shine is to stand out from that which surrounds. The exhibition explores instances of momentary and lasting divergence, and their relational logic, where the ordinary is a precondition for the surprising.

About the artist

Shirin Sabahi (b. 1984, Tehran, Iran).