Barmâyeh by Ebrahim Poustinchi
“in shâhnâmeh--the national persian/iranian epic book of kings (a long epic poem written by the persian poet ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 ce), barmâyeh is a mythical cow, that saves the king of kings, fereydun, by feeding him--as a child, with her milk, and keeping him safe from the hands of the evil enemy, zahhak. later, zahhak as revenge kills barmâyeh.
named after shâhnâmeh's mythical cow, and living a hybrid ancient-contemporary life, barmâyeh is a pet, adopted from a mythological origin. her immature multi-directional embryonic ""body"" like topology from one hand and multi-orientational/multi-scalar reading suggestions, on the other hand, along with her historical/mythical connections, create an ontological offset between different ""realities"" of barmâyeh as a pet-object. through these misfits/offsets, barmâyeh can be explored as a canvas for dynamic projection of characteristics and readings/misreadings. she is underdeveloped--to open possibilities for misreading, yet defined enough to retain its being as a pet.” ー barmâyeh
materials: 3d printed sculpture, fur rug
Ebrahim Poustinchi, an award-winning designer, artist, curator, and inventor, is Assistant Professor of Architecture and founder/director of the Robotically Augmented Design (RAD) Lab at Kent State University and the founding principle of the STUDIO EP. His research focuses on the intersection of design, worldbuilding, space, media, and robotics, emphasizing an alternative reading of "post-digital" discourse through UI/UX, Human-Machine Interaction (HMI), and physical computation and virtual/tangible interfaces. Ebrahim's creative/scholarly work has been disseminated worldwide in various books, journals, conference proceedings, galleries, and museums nationally and internationally. In 2021 he served as the guest curator at the Architecture and Design (A+D) Museum in Los Angles. Ebrahim Poustinchi completed his post-professional degree in architecture under Greg Lynn at UCLA and holds a professional bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Tehran, Iran.
