Exhibition dates: 1 April – 4 June 2023
Official opening event: 6pm, Friday 14 April 2023

Inspired by the geometry found in the Australian night sky, The Sky Is The Same is an immersive video installation that examines the transformative power of light, nature and geometry. The installation arrives at the intersection of culture, geography and the natural world and explores the notion of home through a queer diasporic lens. The title is drawn from an Iranian proverb: “wherever you go, the sky is the same", traditionally used to console a person as they depart from their homeland.

About the artist: 
Ali Tahayori was born and raised in the oppressively homophobic climate of 1980s Iran, and assumed the identity of an outsider which was further compounded by his migration to Australia in 2007. Combining fractured mirrors with text and imagery, his recent works draw on ancient Iranian philosophies about light and mirrors to create kaleidoscopic experiences; moments of both revelation and concealment hint at the conflicted nature of his identity.

Translating the traditional Iranian craft of Āine-Kāri (mirror-works) into a contemporary visual vocabulary, Ali's practice skilfully combines a discourse about diaspora and displacement with an exploration of queerness – in both cases, poignantly testifying to his experience of being othered. He holds a Doctorate in Medicine, a Graduate Diploma in Photography, and a Master of Fine Arts in Photomedia from Sydney’s National Art School. His work has been extensively exhibited in the middle East, Europe and Australia.

RSVP to the opening event via trybooking www.trybooking.com/CEZES

Image: Ali Tahayori, The Sky is the Same 2022