Installation

To The Goddess of Belonging

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To The Goddess of Belonging *

A young woman with curly hair and tattoos sitting on the floor, looking at a small staged furniture setup inside a black box, with some decorative green lanterns, miniature sofa, a small orange chair, a playing card, and a pizza slice model.
An art installation featuring a green fabric-covered box with two circular black speaker grilles on top, situated on a concrete floor. In front of it are two small, ornate rugs with intricate patterns and fringed edges. In the background, there is a circular arrangement of colorful objects on a soft, dark surface.
A woman with dark curly hair, wearing a sleeveless black top and red pants, interacts with a black piano containing miniature furniture, decorative objects, and small lamps, in an artistic or theatrical setting. 
Images © Nazgol Kashani, 2024
Two people are leaning over a table in an art gallery, resting their heads on the surface. The gallery has paintings on the wall, and several visitors are walking and observing the artwork.
A miniature living room setup with a striped armchair, a small patterned rug, a pizza box, an orange remote control, and a small cabinet on a black surface under focused lighting.

To the Goddess of Belonging

2024

Islamic-Iranian shrines (Imamzadeh) have a distinct architectural design and are believed to be built over the relics of an Imam, a holy religious figure. They serve as spaces of remembrance where people pause for solitude, offer prayers, and seek guidance.

Inspired by the aesthetics and architecture of these shrines, To the Goddess of Belonging creates a sanctuary for those who feel out of place, lost in translation, alienated, or detached. The work is a homage to those who do not feel at home, offering a space to reground, to listen, to rest, and to pray to an imaginary deity: the goddess of belonging in search of orientation once again.

The audience is invited to bow and position themselves as if in prayer (sajdeh) in order to peer inside the box and hear the sounds, whispers, and prayers that the artist defines as “sounds of home.”

To the Goddess of Belonging was created and exhibited as part of the Mirror of Creation Art Residency Program at Werkhalle Wiesenberg, Berlin, in June 2024.