Text for Heerz Tooya Exhbition Catalog 2023

In his work, R.D. Laing contends that while we can observe another person's behavior, the full depth of their experience and how they perceive us remains beyond our grasp. Faced with this perceptual limitation, we devise various means of connecting with others. As humans, a compelling impetus propels us—a yearning to share, to ensure our experiences resonate not solely within us but reverberate in the broader realm of others. It is through action, however, that our internal experiences can be disengaged from the recesses of our inner world and unveiled in the external world. Artistic creation aligns with this inherent desire for sharing, unveiling our internal experiences that often necessitate material form to manifest in the tangible world, even for our comprehension.

This catalog encapsulates the tangible embodiment of our experiences from the past year. It not only chronicles the gallery's endeavors but also serves as a labyrinth, guiding you back to your own experiences through the visual narrative of the exhibitions. Should you have attended one, revisiting the memory allows you to reconnect with the nuances of that day—moments illuminated by passing light, the gaze of a person traversing our path, the fragrance of freshly baked bread. These intricate sensations of confusion, elation, connection, and distraction that stirred within us during the exhibition constitute integral fragments of our experiences. In our pursuit to fathom what we witnessed, we endeavored to comprehend our inner encounters.

Engaging with art propels us through a continual oscillation between the artist's world and our own, and vice versa. Remarkably, the simple act of observation can yield a plethora of experiences within us. I may never fully experience what you undergo, but can I peer through your eyes? This inquiry lies at the heart of the profound reciprocity inherent in the act of looking, which traverses the boundary between our worlds, creating a rich image of shared experience.

Can I peer through your eyes?

Text for Heerz Tooya Exhbition Catalog 2023

The Difficulties of Decoding Artefacts