When Unearthed Sights Collide was the resulting exhibition of a mentorship/fellowship program through the San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery. Throughout Spring and Summer of 2024, I mentored emerging artists Shirin Khalatbari and Sun Park and worked with them towards their two person exhibition at SFAC Main Gallery. When Unearthed Sights Collide opened and was on view Fall 2024. Below is more about the exhibition. Thank you to SFAC Main Gallery team for the opportunity and support throughout this experience.

What happens when we feel empowered to take control of the narrative from Western doctrines and allow ourselves to ground into our own rituals and history? We may be charmed by what’s reflected out.

When Unearthed Sights Collide examines the exploration of such inquiries through the interpretations of two artists. Through installation, photography, drawing, and sculpture, Shirin Khalatbari and Sun Park surface and shape alternative narratives that question the established notions of religion and archeology.

Park’s installation begins left of the gallery entrance and walks you through their personal mythology and rituals. As you move through the installation, you’ll feel the guidance and luring presence of dragons in many forms. A nod to this year’s cosmological astrology, the wooden dragon. Take a closer look at the objects before you. Some are common and familiar materials, rice paper, a Lego piece, lychee skin, communion crackers, and so on. Some are natural and some are not, a true reflection of our existing world. All are treated with respect and displayed symbolically; they present Park and collaborator tani tane’s ritualistic practices. The installation leaves the viewer with the question of what feeds us spiritually and how we digest that into our bodies. Their work pulls from childhood experiences and narratives from literature that illuminate the act of consumption and invite viewers to reconsider the boundaries of identity and community.

Take a moment to sit on the smooth wooden benches and try to root yourself in the moment. If facing the fountain, you may be meditated towards another place or space. Facing the other direction, you may find a blurry reflection of yourself and start imagining other ways of being.

Photography: San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries and Aaron Wojack

Link to the digital catalog and more of my writing about this exhibition.