PAGE (NYC) is pleased to present With my hands over my mouth, an exhibition of new works by Hadi Falapishi. Each photograph in the exhibition is developed through Falapishi's darkroom, including one of the artist's “covers"—a series of works that feature complex multi-layered forms of popular culture in an examination of social relations, cultural identity, and systems of belief.
A series of dates within the same decade is essential to the work:
In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Iran and the US played one another for the first and only time. Iran took the lead five minutes before halftime and scored again in the 84th minute. Three minutes before the game closed, American, Brian McBride, scored a goal. That night Hadi was 10 years old—he fell asleep for the second half of play and missed the final two goals.
In 2008, Hadi was paid for 14 months by the Iranian soccer club team, Fadjr e Karaj, to fill the sweeper-defender position.
In 2018, Hadi visited the artist, Alan Uglow's apartment and saw his painting Standard #24 (Black 2) for the first time. The same year, he invited Brian McBride, former American soccer player, to his darkroom.
Entering the exhibition at Page, viewers encounter a series of photographs. Intricately tied to Hadi's time playing soccer, these images recount and reiterate what it means to capture a goal. Each time the artist kicks the ball against the light sensitive paper, the system is triggered and light exposes the paper. These life-size photograms are employed to create a group of missed or dismissed goals.
The idea for this exhibition grew with the hope of including Uglow’s Standard #24. In lieu of the actual painting due to unforeseen difficulties in procuring and exhibiting the work, Hadi has inserted a “cover”.
