Online Event
This event can be attended remotely
2025
Jul 19
2025
Oct 04
Godfrey Dean Art Gallery
49 Smith Street
Yorkton SK
S3N0H4
Treaty 4 Territory
Cost: Free
Art Exhibition
Négar Devine-Tajgardan: Uncle Mahmood
Négar Devine-Tajgardan: Uncle Mahmood
On view July 19 - October 4, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 19, 1-3 PM
This body of work emerges from a hidden family photograph: an image of the artist’s uncle holding her infant sister, concealed for decades to spare her father’s grief. In 1988, Négar Devine-Tajgardan’s 23-year-old uncle was among thousands of political prisoners executed without trial. Families were denied final visits, funerals, or even the right to mourn openly.
Using this photograph, taken just years before his death, Devine-Tajgardan weaves fragmented images of her uncle’s face into textile and paper pieces, evoking traditional rugs. These everyday objects become metaphors for the stolen normalcy and belonging experienced not only by Négar’s family, but by all who carry the trauma of state violence, silenced histories, and forced displacement.
While rooted in Iran’s 1988 massacres, this project speaks to universal wounds: the erasure of memory, the weight of unspoken grief, and the resilience of those who rebuild lives far from homes that are no longer safe. Through the act of weaving, Devine-Tajgardan reclaims fragments of loss into patterns of remembrance, honoring one life among thousands, and the enduring search for healing.
GDAG gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, SK Arts, the City of Yorkton, Sask Culture, Sask Lotteries, Community Initiatives Fund, Sasktel, Painted Hand Development Corp., Yorkton and District Community Foundation, and Heritage Canada
On view July 19 - October 4, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 19, 1-3 PM
This body of work emerges from a hidden family photograph: an image of the artist’s uncle holding her infant sister, concealed for decades to spare her father’s grief. In 1988, Négar Devine-Tajgardan’s 23-year-old uncle was among thousands of political prisoners executed without trial. Families were denied final visits, funerals, or even the right to mourn openly.
Using this photograph, taken just years before his death, Devine-Tajgardan weaves fragmented images of her uncle’s face into textile and paper pieces, evoking traditional rugs. These everyday objects become metaphors for the stolen normalcy and belonging experienced not only by Négar’s family, but by all who carry the trauma of state violence, silenced histories, and forced displacement.
While rooted in Iran’s 1988 massacres, this project speaks to universal wounds: the erasure of memory, the weight of unspoken grief, and the resilience of those who rebuild lives far from homes that are no longer safe. Through the act of weaving, Devine-Tajgardan reclaims fragments of loss into patterns of remembrance, honoring one life among thousands, and the enduring search for healing.
GDAG gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, SK Arts, the City of Yorkton, Sask Culture, Sask Lotteries, Community Initiatives Fund, Sasktel, Painted Hand Development Corp., Yorkton and District Community Foundation, and Heritage Canada
2025
Jul 19
2025
Oct 04
Godfrey Dean Art Gallery
49 Smith Street
Yorkton SK
S3N0H4
Cost: Free
Organizer
Accessibility
- Wheelchair Accessible