Apolis is a visual autobiography of Arash Fayez’s life in limbo between 2014 and 2018. The 312 pages comprise the artist’s complete US immigration dossier, from his arrest by law enforcement authorities to his voluntary departure from the country. Apolis presents official documents overlaid with smartphone photos of everyday life captured during the same period. Photographs are “collaged” over sections of the immigration dossier, concealing personal and sensitive information. This juxtaposition creates a multilayered narrative, revealing contrasting perspectives—of those in power and of someone without any. The project stemmed from a conversation between the artist and his immigration lawyer, whose succinct explanation of his legal status encapsulated the situation’s complexity: “You’re not illegal, but you’re not legal either.”
Arash Fayez is an artist working with different forms of image-making, exploring notions of in-betweenness. He was born in Tehran, studied fine arts at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and currently lives in Barcelona.
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Apolis
Apolis
Arash Fayez
312 pp
312 b/w- and 160 color illustrations
open thread-sewn softcover with printed dust jacket
Leipzig June, 2024
ISBN: 9783959058506
Width: 21 cm
Length: 29 cm
Language(s): Spanish, English, French
Editor
Arash Fayez
Designer
Lyosha Kritsouk
Contributor
Shumon Basar, Manuel Sagade
Artist
Arash Fayez
Awards
9th LUMA Rencontres Dummy Book Award, Arles 2023