Y.Z. Kami

Y.Z. Kami (b. 1956 in Tehran, lives and works in New York)

Self–Portrait as a Child (1990) by Y.Z. Kami depicts a tranquil scene of three women seated at a dining table having tea in a garden. The background is taken from a magazine clipping from 1905-07 which the artist used to recall memories of the Russian furniture and decorative objects that filled his grandparents’ home in Tehran. Dressed in formal attire, the portrait of the young boy is a painted rendition of a black-and-white photograph from the artist’s childhood. Kami constructs a narrative that bridges his childhood memories of home and family.