“Pink Window”

The "Pink Window" art project is a multi-round interactive experience that aims to evoke childhood memories and foster connection and storytelling among participants. The project unfolds over several stages, each designed to engage participants in a unique way:

Round One: Painting the Pink Window

Participants are provided with a letter-size sheet of transparent glass, along with brushes and pink acrylic paint. Valian shares her childhood story about a pink window and encourages participants to recreate their own version by painting on the glass. This activity fosters a friendly atmosphere and builds trust as participants engage in a shared creative process.

Round Two: Breaking the Pink Window

Once participants have finished painting their glass windows, Badri offers them the opportunity to fulfill her childhood dream of breaking the pink window. With proper protective gear, participants are guided on how to safely throw stones at the painted glass from a distance. This act of breaking the window serves as a catalyst for personal reflection and letting go of nostalgic elements.

Round Three: Reconstructing the Window

After the pink window has been shattered, participants come together to collect the broken glass fragments and return to the table. They engage in a collaborative activity of reconstructing a new window using the shattered pieces. This process encourages ongoing discussion and sharing of stories as participants work together to create something new out of the fragments.

Round Four: Self-Portraits Through Reconstructed Windows

Badri considers each reconstructed body of work as a self-portrait of each participant. Each A-letter size-reconstructed pink window represents a unique and narrative abstract image of the individual's childhood memories, landmarks, neighborhoods, and perhaps traumas.. It visually depicts Badri's childhood memories and provide a narrative image of the stories shared by the participants.

The "Pink Window" project can be conducted in one-on-one sessions or as a group, and participants are welcome to embed small pieces of their favorite stones, shells, or other items into their reconstructed windows to permanently preserve their memories within the art pieces.

Overall, t”Pink Window” combines storytelling, creative expression, and collaborative reconstruction to facilitate connections, evoke nostalgia, and create a visually engaging experience for both participants and viewers. “ Pink Window” has been successfully implemented in various platforms like ARTogether in Oakland and Art Venture Gallery in Half Moon Bay and aims to continue creating meaningful experiences for participants in future exhibitions and residencies.

Story behind the “Pink Window” :

 Four sweet girls, around 10 years old and younger, are on the back seats. “Baba”, that’s what they call their father, is driving fast. Girls are screaming extremely excited and ask their father to drive faster. “Faster Baba, faster.” They laugh to choke and their happy, loose bodies fall on one another like an ice-cream melting on its cone. 

It is Summer and Baba has been rolling down all the windows and the roof top is open. So, sometimes girls stand on the seats and keep necking out of the roof top  screaming and laughing freely. The wind blows away their words as well as their happy tears and their beautiful hairs.

“Faster Baba, faster.”

The car is one of the old versions of Citroen, invented during the second world war and probably one of those which was assembled at that time, but still running around. Girls love their old car better than “Doctor” uncle. Their Citroen gives them a better jolt when Baba is driving over the bumps at high speed like a tempest.

One night, their mom was loudly complaining about the financial struggles they have been going through and at that night the kids learned that “Doctor” uncle’s car was way more expensive and the amount of red meat they ate was way more than what they had per week. They also discovered that they belong to a lower financial class family and “Doctor” uncle and his family are hiding many events running in their house from their family. That was their mom’s perception that was never proved even years after.But the girls still loved their Citroen better than the uncle’s car because “Doctor” uncle would never drive that fast and he would never let his kids stand in his car or even sit without seatbelt fastened. He was too strict and they didn’t wish to have him as their father even though they could eat more meat.

Baba is driving fast.

“Oh, Baba two more bumps we’re approaching. Don’t slow down. Promise? ”

Girls still laughing like drunks and can’t pronounce words properly, swept by the wind and their endless joy.

Baba has a deep satisfaction smile on his face, trying to act like a normal Chauffeur. Just because mom is seated next to him and yelling at him like hell, complaining that he is like a “puppet for his kids and he does whatever they want. He never has a discipline and that is why he is not successful like his “ Doctor” brother. “

Baba pretends, he is zoned out and he is preoccupied with his driving so he can’t hear her or the girls. 

But his inside was full of joy of his little kids. It was the only thing which mattered for him. 

“Oh Baba, we are approaching the pink window. Make sure you slow down. We want to see if we can figure out who is living there.”

Pink window was one of the landmarks on their way toward uncle Ahmad which belonged to someone obviously with very tight finances.  Even tighter than them. Someone living in a neighborhood called “Jail Garden”. Jail Garden didn’t have a good reputation and most of the laborers in the town lived there.

Anytime they were driving to uncle Ahmad, girls liked to touch the landmarks so they would feel in control of the car and its Chauffeur. 

Pink window had a story or maybe not. Kids never discovered that. The only thing they wanted to do was to throw a little pebble and break it down. No one in their town designed their windows with a plastic dark pink colored like that and that image had been bothering them for ever and they were curious to know who was living there and why they used this cheap plastic sheet. Perhaps after their normal glass window was broken by kids playing soccer outside, next to the house.

“Here we are Baba. Don’t miss it. Slow down Baba. The light is on and seems like someone is walking inside .”

“Baba stop. We like to break the window down.” And they kept laughing like drunks.

That was the way the conversation was running around the Pink window any time they were going through Jail Garden to visit uncle Ahmad. 

They visited uncle Ahmad every week when kids were small for years and this conversation was going on for years .

Kids never broke the pink window. Baba never took their talks seriously either. They just enjoyed being with their “family”, the “Pink Window”, the “Bumps” and the “Jail Garden” .