In the Studio: Mohammad Barrangi

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Iranian-born artist and former Paralympian, Mohammad Barrangi, creates intricate, dreamlike worlds where myth and reality collide. His bold, layered works, murals, prints, and 3D sculptures, fuse Persian aesthetics, ancient symbols, and surreal hybrid creatures, often blending women and animals into fantastical forms. Born without the use of his left arm, Barrangi has developed a distinctive printmaking technique, working on the floor and stabilizing his materials with his feet. For his latest project, The Last Rain in Wonderland, Barrangi shifts his focus to the global climate crisis, weaving the stories of displaced communities and endangered animals in southern Iran into his visually striking work. Sahar Zand follows Barrangi’s journey as he prepares for a major exhibition at Nottingham Exchange. Through vivid imagery and intricate textures, his work becomes a reflection on migration, memory, and fragile landscapes.

Transcript

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0:00.0	My subject work always about a wonderland.
0:06.0	I say I live in another world.
0:09.0	This time last rain in Wonderland.
0:15.0	Maybe Wonderland always nice.
0:18.0	This time not.
0:20.0	Like life. One day everything is good. One time, not. Like life, one day, everything is good, one day is not.
0:25.6	Welcome to the documentary in the studio from the BBC World Service. I'm Sahar Zand, exploring the world of
0:32.4	Iranian-born, UK-based artist, Mohamed Barangi. My name is Mohamed Barangi, originally Iranian, born in Rush, north of Iran.
0:42.4	I'm artist, illustrator and printmaker.
0:45.1	How would you describe your art?
0:46.9	About myself, disabled person, immigration, about my feeling after traveling.
0:55.8	Barangis art fuses eastern and western influences,
0:59.5	weaving in Persian aesthetics with exile and disability.
1:03.9	His dreamlike worlds feature women and animals,
1:07.3	merging into surreal hybrids.
1:10.7	Tradition meets modernity as Persian calligraphy intertwines with 3D printing, while his signature
1:17.8	printmaking technique creates a crumbling antique effect against bold, colorful compositions.
1:24.9	His work is held in major collections like the British Museum and the Royal
1:29.2	Collection. After some person seen in my work, understand about immigration, understand about
1:36.0	disabled. In September 2024, I visit Mohamed's studio in Leeds, a city in Northern England,
1:42.9	where he's been based for two years.
1:46.3	Okay, loving the Persian carpet.
	...

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