Fereshteh Toosi | Solar Salutions

Fereshteh Toosi designs experiences and art objects that pose questions and foster animistic connections. Their artwork often involves documentary processes, oral history, and archival research. Immersive performances are produced in conjunction with small sculptures, short films, installations, scores, and poetry, often situated in gardens, parks, and waterways.

In 2022, Fereshteh developed an augmented-reality audio experience for the Independence Seaport Museum with support from the University of Pennsylvania’s Program in Environmental Humanities. In 2021, they participated in the Montréal/Miami New Narratives Lab hosted by the National Film Board of Canada, O Cinema, MUTEK, and FilmGate Interactive. They also earned a Knight New Work 2020 award for their project Oil Ancestors, and a Miami Live Arts Lab Alliance residency to develop Metaphysical Hotline, a performance by telephone for an audience of one. Fereshteh’s project Water Radio: Liquid Intelligence is a series of contemplative canoe and kayak outings supported by The Ellies Creator Award in 2018.

Fereshteh is an Associate Professor in the digital area of the Art and Art History Department of the College of Communication, Architecture, and the Arts at Florida International University. Before joining the faculty at FIU, Fereshteh held a full-time teaching appointment at Columbia College Chicago for 7 years, the Ford Foundation Faculty Fellowship in Arts and Civil Engagement at Syracuse University, and Visiting Assistant Professor appointments at Saint Mary’s College of Maryland and Frostburg State University, among others.

Documentation of Fereshteh’s artwork and creative research is available at http://fereshteh.net and at http://oilancestors.com

OVERVIEW

Solar Salutations is a series of guided activities and conversations about climate feelings, specifically engaging questions about domesticity and displacement. I’m also completing a solar-powered audio streambox to broadcast the sounds of Miami’s environment to the world.

Why is it called Solar Salutations?

The title is a play on surya namaskar, a well-known kriya (action, deed, effort) in the yoga tradition. Photovoltaic cells created by humans and plant photosynthesis have a lot in common. Plants transform the energy of the sun into chemical energy that fuels the survival of other species. Similarly, human-made photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electricity.

The project is inspired by a quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer in her most recent book, Braiding Sweetgrass: “Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize so that just by being, just by shimmering at the meadow’s edge or floating lazily on a pond, I could be doing the work of the world while standing silent in the sun.”

Solar Salutations forges aesthetic connections between the work that plants do for the world, and the human effort necessary to move away from hydrocarbon fuels, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas which are the primary causes of global warming.

The concept for Solar Salutations has been forming for a few years, and it shifted over time. I first used this title to describe a solar-powered sound art performance I wanted to do for the IKT Miami Congress in 2019. That didn’t happen but I’m happy to be pursuing this new version in tandem with my Oil Ancestors project, which is also supported by Solar Power for Artists.

PELICAN ISLAND PARK

OUTTAKE VIDEO

SOUNDCAMP

TFW

One of the questions that the participants chose to ask each other during the Pelican Island workshop was: “Have you noticed algorithmic bias in climate news and other media?” I did not expect this subject to come up, and it has inspired the way I’d like to continue the different facets of this project.

As a result of my Artist as Archivist project, I began a study group based on feedback from participants during Solar Salutations. Here is an anonymous quote from one of the participants after the Pelican Island workshop:

A full moon hovers in the grey sky of early morning. There is a paved road that curves into the horizon, The trees are dark and the street is tinted with a glow of dark orange-brown light. The text “announcing the launch of TFW” is superimposed on top of the photograph in yellow typeface. Under the photograph is a rectangle of a plain black background with more text that reads “a study group about climate change, wellness, and technology from a feminist, queer, decolonial and racial justice perspectives / DM oilancestors@gmail.com to join us!”

“My favorite moments were having open back and forth dialogue about our environmental anxieties as a group. I often talk about climate change but have never put a name to the worries that constantly linger in the back of my mind about that topic.”

The study group is called TFW… (that feeling when) and it’s designed as a supportive space for conversation about climate change, wellness, and technology from feminist, queer, anticolonial and racial justice perspectives. As an in-person community aimed at creative people, discussion will focus on the intersection between digital media like AI and NFTs, and environmental issues.

My role as the facilitator will be informed by my experiences as a professor of digital art, as well as my studies of forest bathing / forest therapy, horticultural therapy, and Buddhist philosophy. An example of the works we will engage with together include texts by Ruha Benjamin, Sarah Jaquette Ray, everest pipkin, Mimi Onuaha, Nabil Hassein, and Octavia Butler, among others.

Here's a link to the invitation for the study group:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tfw-that-feeling-when-study-group-tickets-676939082017