And We Were All There – Pir-Al-Bakran Maze, 12th Century Iran

By Paula Billups

 

Created in 2013. Size 125x130cm.  Medium – posters, gesso, ephemera, foil, paper, tape and acrylic paint.

Notes from the artist:

The large wall-hung piece makes use of an ancient Iranian maze that is based on Kufic script. It was inspired by a friendship I found with a friend who is Persian and who left Iran at age 27. He told me about his family, his life in Tabriz and his time in the Iranian military. It seemed to me that a whole population of people have had to find ways to live life between the demands of a repressive government. How people manage to do this, to sometimes stay off the radar and sometimes challenge the power over them, individually or collectively, informed this piece, which I made with this friend in mind.

About the artist:

Paula Billups was trained at the Lyme Academy in Connecticut, the Grand Central Academy in New York and the Transart Institute in Berlin. She has most recently completed residencies in Germany and Italy, and has most recently exhibited in Berlin, Luxembourg and Connecticut. She shares her studio practice between the cities of Berlin and Boston. You can see more about her work, CV and artist’s statement at www.paulabillups.com.