​Sepideh Boltz

In creating artworks, I am more interested in content processing and its theme than in the form. Not that the technique and relationships between forms, colors, and lines are insignificant to me, but I believe that a deep content or even a simple narrative in any form and structure can find a way to express itself perfectly. And it does not have to be limited to a specific format or medium.
It can be said that my works' content has often been the result of my reaction to the natural and sometimes abnormal actions of the world around me, and is technically defined in Mixed Media Art. My endeavor in visual arts has always been to find life-giving openings amid the hustle and bustle of the world.

The paths that have been taken throughout history, from war to peace, ignorance to civilization, and primitiveness to technology and industry, have always been interesting to me. And of course, the connection between art, history, and industry, especially the oil industry, has been one of my constant interests and activities during my studies and work.

The outcome of William Knox Darcy's contract with Iran in 1901 for the discovery and extraction of oil in Iran and the subsequent eruption of the first oil well in the Masjed Suleiman Iran in 1908, caused an inclusive industrial revolution in my country. But after about half of the century, they have terminated the contract, and the British left the country. With another oil contract called the Consortium Agreement of 1954 and the arrival of the Americans in my city of Abadan, more industrial, economic, and cultural developments took place in my country. However, my narrative as an artist about the oil flow in my country has never been defensive or biased. My view of oil has always been social and documentary, and I have attempted to find the forgotten angles of Abadan'sresidents; people who have been humbly living with oil. Objective narratives of the lives of simple and sincere people who, although unintentionally acquainted with oil, but voluntarily have always been alienated by terms such as industry, national wealth, dirty oil, black gold, superpower, the Middle East, tyranny, and colonialism.

I always try to portray sweet and sometimes bitter stories of moments filled with sadness and joy. The oil industry has been my favorite subject for many years because it has always brought sorrow, joy, love, and sometimes hatred to the people of my country. Oil sometimes instills hope in my people's minds and fear in their lives the next. In a word, oil has always been both a pain and a cure for my people. We can never say that oil is ugly and black or purely beautiful.

In addition to the subject, oil is also the main material of my work. Since I know that oil has the same odor and color all over the world, I want to follow its traces outside the borders of my homeland. I hope to create more works and tell more stories with this theme by making historical bridges between my country and the countries that oil once summoned to my homeland. I like my artworks to be out of bounds and my narratives to be metaphorical. Because when an artist has biological experiences, tangible commonalities, and objective themes of a subject, both its processing and displaying for the creator, and its understanding for the audience will be tangible and without the need for exaggeration and metaphor.