A visual artist who relocated to Brighton from Iran is presenting a distinctive exploration of the city’s historic built environment through mixed-media photography.
Star Khani’s project, titled The Weight of Arrival, has been selected for Fabrica’s Making Space residency programme, scheduled to commence in July 2026.
Her work invites viewers to reconsider Brighton’s churches, towers and building exteriors through an innovative lens.
Khani begins her creative process by capturing black-and-white photographs of these structures before digitally eliminating certain architectural features and incorporating hand-drawn illustrations.
Through this methodology, the project examines how seemingly familiar buildings can contain layered associations with displacement, memory and a sense of belonging.
The undertaking also serves as an intimate account of personal adjustment to urban life in an unfamiliar location.
Throughout the residency period, the project will develop progressively, transforming Fabrica’s premises into an evolving installation that observers can witness taking shape over time.
The visual outcomes shift from unadorned photographic documentation towards multidimensional compositions that narrate Khani’s own experiences of migration and establishing roots in unfamiliar surroundings.
Attendees will have opportunities to observe the ongoing development of the pieces, engage directly with Khani herself, and gain understanding of the emotional intentions underpinning the imagery.
The Weight of Arrival extends beyond mere architectural documentation, delving instead into how such structures are perceived and experienced by those newly arrived in the city, probing the relationship between built environments, recollection and individual perception.