04/06/2026
Newly online for SATELLiTE: In Orbit, Katelyn Halter reviews “Grounding: States of Gender.” This recent exhibition if work by Gita Hashemi was curated by Soheila Esfahani for the artLAB gallery. Katelyn writes:
There is a temporary but obvious obstacle to most viewers when first entering the space: the language barrier. The majority of those who view this piece likely do not speak Persian, much less regularly read Persian calligraphy enough to understand what is written on these scrolls. Hashemi, however, has a remedy for this. Tucked away in a small, rectangular alcove to the right of the space is a small coffee table surrounded by cushions. Laid upon the coffee table are three booklets, within them being direct English and French translations of the calligraphy written on the scrolls. It was upon reading the 30 page translation that I truly learned how impactful this work was. The auto-ethnography is raw and unfiltered. Its contents are graphic, but not for the sake of the viewer’s shock or discomfort. It is documentation of gender-based violence and abuse in its purest form: a first-hand account spanning decades of Zahra’s life. […]
After reading the translated auto-ethnography I was left with a dull, lingering ache in my chest. I was crushed by the experiences Zahra was forced to undergo, but I knew it didn’t just end with her. Her experience is, unfortunately, not uncommon, and that was what made that pain in my chest linger. This exhibition shines a light on the ugly reality that remains so prevalent worldwide, but that so many refuse to acknowledge fully. Not only is the viewer of Hashemi’s work stunned and made uncomfortable by this transcribed account, but they are almost forced to bask in it.
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Read Katelyn’s full review online (link in bio). .esfahani .halter
Images: Gita Hasemi, “Grounding: States of Gender,” artLAB, documentation by Dickson Bou.
