Almost Home

*Offerings At The Altar* , 2017, acrylic, colored pencil and collage on canvas, 3'x5'

During the pandemic “home”, where-ever that may be and whatever that may mean for each of us is a profound concept. It has been a safe harbor for some, and a prison for others.

Artist Amir H Fallah was fascinated by the idea of home before the pandemic. In his recent series Almost Home he reflects on the idea of belonging outside one’s country of origin. His series is featured in the NATURA issue.

AMIR H. FALLAH photographed by Alan Shaffer

We asked Amir some questions about home and life right now, here’s what he had to say.

Can you talk about what home means to you?

Home is a safe place. It’s a place of refuge and calm, of familiarity and peace.

Can you talk about your series Almost Home and how it came about?

Almost Home is a series of landscapes and portraits about Iranian-American immigrants who have not returned to Iran since they left several decades ago, often not through their own volition. These works were first shown in Dubai, a place that I have never lived in but travel to often. Because of the large middle eastern community in Dubai there is a level of comfort that I’ve always felt there. A “cultural invisibleness” that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. My hope was to bring portraits of my fellow Iranian-American immigrants to Dubai and by doing so bring them almost home.

Tell us of your most profound moment in nature?

Recently my family has been traveling to small cabins in northern California. We get lost in the woods and surround ourselves with nature. It’s a type of calm that I rarely find living in a busy city like LA.

Are you an accidental artist or a born artist?

Born artist. Many people are creative but art is an all or nothing path. It’s not something you can dabble in as it’s lifetime pursuit.

Tell us about your childhood, did you become the person you thought you would be?

From the age of 14 I knew I wanted to be an artist. I remember sitting my parents down and telling them I wasn’t going to be a doctor and that I would one day make art for the rest of my life. They thought it was a phase but here we are decades later.

The best and worst advice you've ever been given?

Best advice “outwork everyone else.”

Worst advice? That’s a tough one. I was once told that perhaps painting wasn’t for me and that I should try sculpture. I ended up making sculpture but painting is still my first love.

Your current state of mind?

Stay away from the noise and push forward. I’m at a point in my life where I have a lot of work that I want to make and others opinions of it doesn’t really matter. Others can either come along for the ride or choose not to. At the end of the day I need to make the work I want to make.

What are you working on at the moment?

Working on a show for Denny Dimin Gallery for their Hong Kong space which will open in March.

amir H fallah