hyphen by Aliya Hoff-Vanoni (2024; text by Pardis Mahdavi, 2021). Altered book with collage, found images, gesso, acrylic paint, ink, embroidery, and weavings. Perfect-bound paperback rebound with inlaid hardcover case. 5 x 7 inches.

artist statement

I began reading Hyphen to learn more about a former colleague, the author Pardis Mahdavi. In the middle of reading about her time spent incarcerated in Iran (a punishment for her research into Iranian sexual politics), I suddenly had déja vu—I had read this before.

The book jumped from page 114 to 83. The final signature had been replaced with a copy of the one that came before. Rather than discard the book or subject someone else to this cliffhanger by donating it, I chose to alter the book as a way to more deeply engage with Mahdavi’s work.

I used the misprint to emphasize the repetition of key themes and questions already found throughout the text, and to represent the suspense of being left without a satisfying conclusion. After many hours working into and with the book, I rebound the paperback into a hardcover.

All of the text is from the book, but I incorporated found images, motifs, and various media to extend Mahdavi’s concept of the hyphen as a tool to connect, to create something new, to weave and stitch what may seem to be separate threads to form something beautiful and whole.

I chose to preserve some of the historical text without alteration because I think it offers valuable context for understanding the long legacy of xenophobia in what is now the United States.

I hope this text inspires you to imagine a more expansive and embedded answer to Mahdavi’s repeated question: who are you?

photos

déja vu

This work ©2024 by Aliya Hoff-Vanoni. All Rights Reserved. Do not use or reproduce without written permission.