I Witnessed the Garden Bear Fruit

Inspired by her upbringing in Potomac, Maryland, her Iranian ancestry, and practices of intergenerational land stewardship that connect the two, Kazemzadeh’s latest work considers the careful labor of cultivation—the hopeful gesture of planting a seed.

Featuring sculpture, video, and works on paper, I Witnessed the Garden Bear Fruit offers meditations on how connecting to one’s roots can create a space of joy and healing. Each work is grounded in site-specificity through Kazemdadeh’s use of intimately sourced materials. Photolithographic prints reimagine moments from her familial archive; silhouettes of her mother, father, and grandparents emerge from the contours of lush fig and pistachio trees. Her ceramic planters, pitchers, and watering jugs are formed from wild clay foraged from streambanks near her Maryland home—their surfaces adorned with tulips, hands, grass, and other Iranian symbols of life and resistance. The Earth tones that appear throughout the exhibition are all produced through careful, hand-based processes.

In this quiet, garden-like space, Kazemdadeh’s work embodies memory, heritage, and the mysteries of the land. How does staying rooted in personal connection to place and lineage function as a means of revolt amid isolating sociopolitical systems? How is knowledge cultivated and passed down through generations? What do we choose to carry, and continue to water? Reflecting upon her latest body of work, Kazemzadeh shares the following,

“Each material goes through an act of becoming, through them I am able to locate connections between myself and the world around me. I often think about who I would have been if I were born and raised in Iran—about how radical the action of care is within systems that uphold violent power structures. I imagine a future that is not based on personal gain, but one that honors our bonds with the world around us. When we plant a seed, we know it may never grow, but perhaps the action is more important—that willingness to plant anything, and take care of it regardless.”

Artist

Nilou Kazemzadeh (b. 1993, Maryland, US) is an Iranian American artist based in Maryland. She earned her BA in Studio Art and MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Philadelphia, PA. 

Artworks