Labkhand & Gazelle: Bi-Lingering

Bi-Lingering exploreed the power of language and the duality of existing between cultures, an extension of artists Labkhand Olfatmanesh and Gazelle Samizay's ongoing collaborative project Woven, which used their experiences as women of Iranian and Afghan heritage to look at the way cultural expectations and the effects of war transcend borders.

The project represented that in-between space where one belongs to two (or more) languages and cultures. Since its launch in early 2021, the artists have investigated the way memories and trauma express themselves differently in one’s native language vs. a second language. It was both a research and artistic project in which Olfatmanesh and Samizay ask several questions including: Do we have different personalities in different languages? How do we define our “first language” or “mother tongue”? Are these terms interchangeable? Can certain memories or traumas only be accessed in one particular language? 

Bi-Lingering welcomed bilingual people (of any proficiency) to share their experiences of expressing themselves in more than one language by writing a letter to “Dear Bi-Lingering.” As a thank you, the artists mailed participants a limited edition art card of their choice.

Bi-Lingering was commemorated for its complition of phase one.

 “Bi-Lingering: Voices with mother tongues” was an evening of candid conversations between the artists and fellow Bi-Lingers, including readings of participants’ submitted letters, sharing reflections on what it means to be a Bi-Linger, and a poetry reading video presentation by poet Sahar Muradi titled “Ghazal for Mothers and Tongues”. 

Watch below:     

For more details about the project visit and to learn more on how to participate visit Bi-Lingering’s official website.

BIO

Labkhand Olfatmanesh

Labkhand Olfatmanesh born in Tehran, Iran. and her work explores themes of feminism, racism, and isolation, and how these forces take shape in the United States and her birthplace of Iran. Her work in photography, video, and performance has been exhibited across the US and internationally, including Her recent photo and video work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions including Photo London U.K.; Rencontres d’Arles, France; Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles; Helm Bakery District in collaboration with the Culver City Arts Foundation; the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. She was also awarded the LensCulture Portrait Awards Jurors’ Pick and received first place at the Los Angeles Center of Photography‘s second annual fine art photo competition. She earned a B.A. in graphic design at Azad University in Tehran, Iran, and a Photography Certificate at the London Academy of Radio, Film, and Television. Her work has also been featured by the United Nations, the British Council, and Australian High Commission (2005) as well as at the Peace of Utrecht Festival, Netherlands (2006) and in the UNESCO Palace, Lebanon (2006).  Currently resides in Los Angeles and is a board member at Level Ground organization.

Gazelle Samizay

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and raised in rural Washington state, Gazelle Samizay’s work often reflects the complexities and contradictions of culture, nationality, and gender through the lens of her bicultural identity. Her work in photography, video, and mixed media has been exhibited across the US and internationally, including at Whitechapel Gallery, London; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; the California Museum of Photography, Riverside; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; and the Slamdance Film Festival, Park City, UT. Her pieces are part of the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY; and En Foco, NY. In addition to her studio practice, her writing has been published in One Story, Thirty Stories: An Anthology of Contemporary Afghan American Literature and she is a founding member of the Afghan American Artists and Writers Association. Samizay has received numerous awards and residencies, including from the Princess Grace Foundation, NY; Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles; the Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix; Level Ground, Los Angeles, and the Torrance Art Museum. She received her MFA in photography at the University of Arizona.

Follow Labkhand Olfatmanesh and Gazelle Samizay on Instagram @labbiephotography and @gsamizay

In 2021, Labkhand Olfatmanesh and Gazelle Samizay participated in SSP's "re(VISION)s Residency Program". In re(VISION)S they were invited to "vision revolutionary and liberatory realities rooted in ancestral inheritances and re(VISION)ed technologies of freedom”.