Arcana

Growing up, artist Michelle Emami's parents raised her by intentionally refraining from imposing their religious perspectives. They encouraged her to chart her path through the mysteries of life. Despite the absence of formal religious instruction, the household was rich with esoteric influences. Emami's mother would present tarot cards, sparking her fascination with folklore and prompting her to develop her own symbolic language. As she matured, Emami began to explore her parents' cultural backgrounds, weaving these influences into her artwork. The outcome is the subject of her latest work, Arcana, a large-scale sculptural installation consisting of motifs, patterns, and symbols embodying the complexities of her cultural identity and upbringing. Arcana inaugurates the gallery's Atrium Projects program showcasing site-specific presentations of original works of art by emerging and established artists. 

 

Emami views Arcana as a spiritual reckoning— where she delves into a profound exploration of hidden knowledge and esoteric traditions. She demonstrates this narrative in the installation's background with woven patterns of Iranian girih tiles and motifs from Mexican quilts, representing her father and mother, respectively. In the foreground, she uses both the upright and reserved skeletal figure to play upon the duplicitous nature of the death tarot card. While these figures are often villainized, the artist stresses the desire to remove the negative connotations from this card and embrace multiple avenues of interpretation. 

 

The installation employs personal, cultural, and tarot symbols to signify the interplay of light and darkness, symbolizing the transformation and the tension between change and stasis. The moths and the monarchs fluttering within the composition epitomize an aspect of "Arcana" that navigates the unknown through folklore, myths, and omens as guides through the labyrinth of existence. Attuned to nature, the inclusion of these two creatures in the installation performs as spiritual guidance for Emami– the monarchs, signifying a need for change, and the moths foreshadowing or cautioning of something yet to come.