10 Questions with Qeas Pirzad

Qeas Pirzad studied at the Royal Academy of Art at the Hague before moving to Berlin to work as an artist. His bodies of work utilize multiple styles and disciplines to communicate his rich lessons learned from the various parts of the world and social strata he has occupied. As a multidisciplinary artist, Pirzad works with oil on canvas, digital collage, sculpture, and performance art. In his 2019 solo show in Berlin, Pirzad exhibited his body of work entitled The First Awakening. The collection of oil paintings completed between 2018 and 2019 illustrated a new reality of Pirzad’s creation. He imagines this reality as one in which he can occupy multiple realms of his life without abandoning one for another. This multiplicity is revisited throughout Pirzad’s bodies of work. The dream-like compositions of Pirzad’s projects invite audiences to a visual journey free from boundaries. He hopes that this journey catalyzes viewers’ own awakenings.

www.qeaspirzad.com | @qeas.pirzad

 ARTIST STATEMENT

Qeas Pirzad’s work takes a critical view of the creation of personalized realities.

A descendant of Afghani transplants to the Netherlands, Pirzad quickly mastered the ability to occupy the contrasting worlds of life both in and out of his home. Much of his work is a reflection of the artist’s revelation of defining his own reality. Pirzad reflects on realizing societal and ancestral influences on his existence. Following an epiphany of these influences’ impact on his existence, Pirzad used his art to analyze and deconstruct the results of his previously prescribed reality.

Divine Manifesting | BODY OF WORK STATEMENT

Our surroundings are tainted by the presence of man-made concepts, controlling the expansion of our being through conditions veiled as liberty.

An unchanging exposure to constructed phenomena, that sparks a weakness for the search of validation in every place but the inner self will only blind the connection with our divine being.

The higher self exceeds our worldly existence and will not be manifested through the presence of man-made frameworks, these simply serve as distractions from our purpose.

The awakened entity that has dissociated itself from the measures enforced by society no longer seeks validation through the presence of lifeless bodies but will understand and lead with the power of the divine within.

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Divine manifesting | Qeas Pirzad

Qeas, welcome again in Al-Tiba9 magazine, this time with digital artworks. Please tell those who are discovering you today, who you are, and how you started experimenting with images?

The ever-changing, ever-evolving outcome of the seed that my ancestors have planted, and I am here to bring that to fruition—simply expressed, A Multidisciplinary artist. Generally speaking, I don't like to limit myself to one specific medium or way of giving my ideas, thoughts, and concepts their form. It keeps it interesting for me to not be doing or be using things over and over again. That is why I have worked with oil paint, crayons, collage, writing poetry, spoken word and written, and performed monologues, just to name a few. But experimenting with images is a mixture of seeing other artists work with collage and photography and me challenging myself to use this as a medium and see what I could make out of this. Looking back, I think I've been able to make it my own add a little touch of "Qeas" to it 

Do you find more freedom in digital techniques?

Every medium has freedom and restrictions in its own right, but it is interesting to me how you can take an existing image and shape and reform this into something new, give it a different context.

So it challenges you to reinterpret something that already has a meaning. But I try not to focus on the "freedom" part of a medium too much because I don't want to create work based on what medium I will use, but the other way round. This makes me reinterpret the usage of mediums as well, in my opinion.

How did 2020 influence the way you express yourself?

Not sure it influenced the way I express myself, but it made me more aware that a lot of messages I convey with my work seem to be very accurate and parallel to the times we exist in. I am verbalizing my subconscious, which is ultimately absorbing what we experience in real-time. Sometimes I sense I'm accessing a higher source that communicates its messages through me. This is really what this series called "Divine Manifesting" is about, accessing the higher self outside and above our physical self. A source that does not seek validation through the presence of lifeless bodies.

What was the art lesson you learned from last year's experience?

To continue challenging myself in finding new ways of giving my thoughts and ideas form. It is very important to recognize that not all messages can be communicated through the same medium. Some things work better when they have a specific form than something else. It also taught me that it is important to pay attention to what you are saying and communicating because you never know who's watching you, and something you might have the answer someone else is looking for. But I definitely worked more on writing poetry and giving it voice, my own voice to be exact. It breathes in life into the words I've written, and you get to hear it with the tone and emotion I intended them to be heard or read.

We're in 2021; tell us your feelings.

I am very excited about 2021, as I am about any other year, really. 2020 was definitely a year that made most of us reevaluate what is important to us and be conscious of our words and thoughts as they affect our mood and energy. But there are many ideas I am working on manifesting this year, and if they are meant for me, then it will happen, but if It doesn't, then that's also fine! To continue all the good work we all started last year.

Any projects or expectations for this year?

By the time this interview is out, I have already started my residency at The Ballery in Berlin, where we are focusing on performing my work and finding out really what a performance can mean for me and my work. Everything will be uploaded on my Instagram @qeas.pirzad. But to look at "Qeas" in the realm of art and this world, to continue shaping and carving out my corner. So I am looking forward to seeing what will come out of this and what other new things I am going to discover about myself. And really, just keep an eye on me. I am my own biggest project!