Selfie Sculpture
© Mostafa Keshvari & Parvaneh Roudgar
FEATURES
Locked in Friendship: A human-sized sculpture of a cellphone held by black & white hands locked in friendship, symbolizing the unity of all races.
See Yourself in Others: The mirror of the cellphone shows a self-reflection where we can see ourselves in others and vice versa. Put yourself in other people's mirrors!
Mutual Interactions: The art can mutually interact with viewers of different races. As people take selfies with the sculpture, the sculpture in the abstract also takes selfies of them via the reflection in the mirror of the cellphone, giving the audience a new perspective.
Apart Yet Together: A safe 2-meters of social distance gap between the viewers, yet the art brings all races together with a selfie smile.
Language of Unity: The bracelet beads are engraved with the word "unity " in all major languages to celebrate our similarities as one human race.
Poetic Statement: The poem at the back of the Arabic-designed cellphone conveys the message of love and unity between all the races.
A Timeless Art: The built-in LED lights bring the sculpture to life as a glowing cellphone at night. They invite the viewers to spot it from a long distance interact with it 24/7.
Why Now?
Celebrating our similarities despite our different points of view:
There has never been a more crucial time to see the world through each other's perspectives. By seeing yourself and others in the selfie mirror, viewers can reflect on their similarities despite their different perspectives in the mirror. People from different cultures can take a unity selfie together while being apart!
Hotspot for Tourism: The sculpture is built with "Millennial marketing" in mind! In today’s world where “Instagram” and “ selfies” are the most common marketing tools, the sculpture can have a huge impact on tourism as viewers will share their selfies on social media and spread the message of unity for free! It can be a selfie hot spot for people from all over the globe and turn this public art into a popular tourist attraction. After all, everyone with a cellphone loves to share a good selfie for a good cause!
Diversity and Inclusion: As BIPOC artists, both Mostafa Keshvari & Parvaneh Roudgar have been globally successful with their visual art. Mostafa, an award-winning filmmaker, came up with the concept. Parvaneh, an established sculptor, refined the idea and translated it into a model sculpture. By supporting minority artists, you will give hope to future minority artists to participate more in further enriching your city's cultural diversity. While creating a self-reflective experience, we want to bring people together in a joyful and trendy way.
About the Artists
Mostafa Keshvari ( Concept & Design Artist )
Mostafa is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist based in Vancouver. He was nominated for the "Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award" in 2022. His works mainly focus on social issues and have gained international attention on worldwide media such as The NewYorkTimes, The Guardian, BBC, The Times, CBC, The Global News, etc. His films have been showcased at prestigious film festivals such as Cannes and have won over 80 international awards and nominations. Mostafa's latest film Corona(2020) was the world's first COVID film and had a theme of xenophobia. He hopes to continue racism through his art. Mostafa is also a member of the Director's & Writer's Guild of Canada as well as the Federation of Canadian Artists.
Parvaneh Roudgar ( Sculpture Artist )
Parvaneh is an acclaimed international artist with works exhibited in different cities around the world. She began her journey in art in 1986 in Florence and worked with renowned artists such as Antonio Di Tommaso and Marcello Fantoni. With over 40 years of experience as an artist and teacher, Parvaneh has had many national and international exhibitions and has been the recipient of numerous prizes and commissions. Parvaneh’s works have been selected as part of the collection of the Salsali’s museum in Dubai and different projects have been exhibited as permanent outdoor sculptures in North America and Iran. ”Sameness Selfie” is one of Parvaneh’s most ambitious and interactive projects to date.
