A "psychogeography of place and memory'

'Adorned with Pillars,'' by Bahar Behbahani, in her show "Let the Garden Eram Flourish'' at the Hood Museum of Art, at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., through March 12.

The Hood reports:

"After her first visit to the United States from Iran, in 2003, Bahar traveled between Tehran and the United Stated before permanently locating to New York in 2007, where she currently resides.'' 

"Let the Garden Eram Flourish''  features paintings, installations and videos that capture what she calls the "psychogeography of place and memory,"  using both historical references and personal memory, the Hood says.

"Behbahani creates work that is not only reflective but is challenging for both herself and an audience.''

''I'm hoping my work raises questions without clear answers. I'm very interested in challenging our perceptions,'' she told the Hood.

''Rather than creating a utopian fantasy or confirming an orientalism that the Western world hopes for in the gardens. Incorporating eastern, Persian and Iranian aesthetic traditions are all found within Behbahani's work as well as mirage, structures, memory, fantasy and the power of imagination, Using layers of paint and mixed media, each piece certainly gives off the feel of a garden, while leaving room for various forms of interpretation and space to question the piece.''