Parisa Ghaderi: The Impossible Room Wins 1st Place in Louisiana Biennial

Parisa Ghaderi’s (MFA ​‘14) performance project The Impossible Room recently won first place and ​“Best In Show” in the 6^th Louisiana Biennial. .

The Impossible Room, which received funding from Michigan State University’s Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP) production fund, explores ​“how contemporary dance might embody ideas of separation, border-crossing, intersection, and enforcement, and how bodies ​‘mark’ their space as citizens or non-citizens.”

My project is a performance piece about separation, love, longing, and loss among those whose life has been affected by borders. Using the orange tape in ​“The Impossible Room I & II” indicates how borders are fluid and imaginary, bringing people apart and separated. Metaphorically, the orange barrier, shown as bubble wrap and the tape itself, is an essential part of this performance, changing our perspective on defining the border, both as a physical and psychological barrier. It is not all that simple to tell the difference between ​“us” and ​“them” anymore.