Pending

Format: Pencil drawings on an expired passport
Year: 2013

Pending is a series of drawings made inside the artist’s expired passport, the one holding the single-entry student visa issued in 2009 for their arrival in the United States. It is a visa that promises no re-entry if its holder dares or longs to leave. In the series, the artist depicts intimate family moments from years of living apart from their family. It includes a family reunion planned for 2013 that never happened, because of the prolonged administrative process for Iranian citizens.

The drawings explore the inseparable politics of family and exile. Long bureaucratic visa processes, administrative effort, unanswered correspondence, the US consulate’s reluctance to share information on the visa’s status, numerous unsuccessful calls to the people in charge, and financial hardship all lead to these family moments becoming metamorphosed into momentary conversations on the screen.

Related work: Paperwork · Geometry of Exile