Bastion Square bustles with visitors and locals simply walking through or interacting with the myriad artists that line the space.
Among them, Ramin Khosrotash, an immigrant from Iran, who after 25 years as an architect, needed to find a way to fill the gap until he could get that career going here in Victoria.
A lifetime artist, he settled on stunning decoupage boxes, doing some of the work on-site where people can see the works develop.
“Today, those boxes are my business,” he said. “They help support me while allowing me to stay connected to design, creativity, and the local community. Every market day teaches me something new about the people here – their stories, the symbols they connect with, and the ideas that resonate with them.”
Covered with fine drawn wildlife and creatures, then finished inside with felt, the alluring boxes stand in a variety of sizes. They draw the eye, or certainly did for one Saanich man on a mission to find a box that would unbind him from technology.
Liam Bartie had embarked on a method of disconnecting from distraction that included locking his phone away in a box. Using a thrifted silverware holder was working, but he hoped for something with a bit of ritual and meaning.
“If you have this piece that means a lot to you and has the meaning behind it, the rituals carry more weight,” he said. So when Bartie found the beauties in Bastion Square, he thought to ask the artist about a commission.
This is where the magic happened – in another entire realm of the artist’s creativity.
“My goal is not simply to create an object. My goal is to give someone’s story a physical form,” Khosrotash said. “This is an approach I have been developing for many years. People come to me with a memory, a personal experience, or something meaningful in their lives. I listen carefully and try to understand the emotions behind their story. From there, I translate those emotions into symbols, and then into forms and geometry.”
He immediately saw promise in Bartie’s goal. And instead of embarking on the box itself, he sought to learn more about the man and the meaning behind the ritual he created.
They came to a line by the Persian poet Sohrab Sepehri: “Sometimes my soul, like a stone, lies in the path of truth.”
Four ideas from that line became the foundation of the piece: the soul, the stone, the path, and truth.
“Liam’s project was especially meaningful because, although we had only recently met, we were able to trust each other enough to take that creative journey together and transform a personal story into something unique,” Khosrotash said.
While it was being created, Bartie sent a link to a lock available online, anticipating that it might close the box. The day he went to collect, the showman in the artist came out. It still stands out as a moment of magic for Bartie. Khosrotash first gifted him a nice stone to hang around his neck. Then the artist put on a show of seeming to struggle with the lock.
“The stone eventually became the only key capable of unlocking the box. In this way, a simple object from the poem became both the symbolic and mechanical heart of the artwork,” Khosrotash explained.
The moment of realization as Bartie discovered the rock was the key to his new ritual piece was caught on video.
“He caught my reaction and complete surprise,” Bartie said.
Bartie documented the process to share the “magic” of the man and his work on social media, posting a video to his various platforms.
“The reciprocity and the way that Ramin works, the whole experience was just incredible really. It’s hard to describe for me how meaningful the whole process was,” Bartie said. “For somebody to be really just wanting to understand you and guide you through the process, was emblematic of what an artist he is, and the attention he brings to his work.”
He attempted to match that level of care while creating the video. The response so far, in views, comments and other feedback, suggests the sentiment shows.
“When someone pays that much attention to you, and it comes through in the work, it’s really special,” Bartie said.
Khosrotash is developing several new projects based on different human stories while continuing his community involvement in downtown Victoria. The decoupage boxes and my personal artworks serve two different purposes.
“The (decoupage) boxes support my daily life and connect me with the community,” he said. “My personal work is where I bring together everything I have learned from architecture, theatre, design, and art to transform an individual’s story into a unique piece that cannot be repeated.”
About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk
Do you have a Greater Victoria story to share? Send me a tip at christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca