Reyhan Lál
Visual Art II Reyhan Lál is an Iranian film and performance artist based in Amsterdam. Her work centres questions of existence, the human condition, separation and solitude. Working across film, video and performance, she creates enigmatic situations in which the familiar becomes strange and meaning emerges through ambiguity, silence and the subtleties of language. Drawn to what lies beneath the surface of everyday encounters, Lál considers the unspoken tensions between individuals, the limitations of language and the meanings embedded in ordinary gestures. Her narratives resist linear structures and definitive interpretations, unfolding through restrained gestures, sparse aesthetics and carefully constructed situations.
The work engages with the history and significance of the Persian ney, a traditional reed flute, as a point of departure for reflecting on the relationship between the human voice, sound and the natural world. Drawing on the origins of musical expression, the work considers how humans have sought harmony between their own voices and the sounds of their surroundings. The ney becomes a symbol of this ongoing connection, bringing together breath, listening and the human capacity for contemplation and gratitude. The video work draws attention to the relationship between sound and human existence, in which breathing becomes both an act of expression and a way of giving life back to the world.