Philadelphia artist Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez creates poetic installations informed by her cultural identity as an American woman with Persian and Puerto Rican heritage. Inspired by the Zoroastrian haftsin (a table of symbolic objects traditionally assembled in the household every spring in celebration of the Persian New Year), normal objects like flowers, fruit, candles and mirrors express complex themes of identity, luck, transformation and desire. Family heirlooms and stories from her parent’s immigration experience are also referred to in the work. Both sources reveal the ability physical items have to carry coded meaning and how objects, like experiences, can be fleeting.
Literary elements are ever-present in Victoria’s work. She documents her life through writing in various forms, from poetry and prose to journal entries. Handcrafted neon lights as well as solid and blown glass objects tell stories of familial history and personal experience. The illuminated title, your love… will always… surpass… the… distance, spans three distinct cases, serving as allegory to love that endures despite obstacles and separation. She states, “I have also come to see this light as a metaphor for the pouring and receiving of unconditional love… My poetry and prose are used to guide the work and reference the nuanced joys and sorrows of friendship, family ties and romantic relationships. I play with written and physical material to transfigure lived experience into a redeemed dreamscape.”
Although Victoria’s sculptures and installations are ultimately mixed-media, glass and neon are the most prominently featured. The rich color that glows from within both materials makes them deeply alive and present, sometimes even buzzing. Passionate about social change and arts education, she notes that glass and neon have been traditionally male-dominated, apprenticeship-based fields and she aims to open up these disciplines for more inclusive participation. In addition to teaching at Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Victoria also directed the Bead Project at UrbanGlass, supporting femmes from diverse backgrounds in learning the craft of glasswork.
Visit: victoria-am.com
