Hootan Heydari

I am Aria
in waltz with Matilda
born of cypress ash
I’m the seed of pomegranate

in the belly of the lost magpie
I’ll be carried
on the feathers
of the Simurgh, asleep

In flight over the
long Nullabor stretch
of concrete and the Alborz
I dream…

A core intention of my research project is to explore the relationship between memory, repetition, and futility as they pertain to the migrant experience. I investigate the discursive, cultural, and psychological reasons behind the urge to return to the past, reframing this act not as a pathological response, but as a complex form of resistance to assimilation. By engaging with repetition in this way, I aim to challenge the perception of futility, suggesting instead that what might appear as a futile act is, in fact, a deliberate and potent assertion of identity and agency. In this way repetition and futility also become generative tools in the studio for the migrant artist.