Themes of money, place, belonging
At the age of 13, Boback Emad was put in a car, given some money, told “good luck” and driven to the airport. At the time, the Iranian Revolution was in full swing, his grandfather had been part of the besieged Shah’s military, and his mother thought it would be safest if he were sent away.
“She saved my life,” says Emad, now 53.
It’s no wonder that themes of memory and place and belonging come up frequently in his work. On Friday, May 5, he and other immigrant artists will be showing pieces in an exhibition called “Salt, Sugar & Love from Nowhere.” The show doubles as an inauguration for Patriact, an organization that works to defend civil rights, and a benefit for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law.
Emad’s contributions are particularly engaging. Along with larger sculptural pieces, Emad works with tar to create images on cloth. In one piece, he’s drawn the U.S. flag with the original 13 colonies marked with bullet holes, and in the deep black of the tar he’s etched lines from the Declaration of Independence, translated to Farsi. That act democratizes a script and an object that, lately, white nationalists have been trying to claim as their own.
Emad’s work is not generally political, but for this show — and for this time — he stretched himself.
“I think I’ve been hiding for a long time,” he says. “But maybe I’m strong enough now.”