In this episode of the Framer Framed podcast, we have an in-depth conversation with Golrokh Nafisi and Ahmadali Kadivar, the writers of the graphic novel Walvistraan: A Love Story in A Time of Extinction and Isolation. The novel intricately weaves the history of the Molenwijk area in Amsterdam-Noord, exploring themes of industrialisation, environmental impact, and community resilience through the lives of fictional mole and whale families. Nafisi and Kadivar share their creative process, discuss the rich historical context of their work, and reflect on how their personal experiences and artistic collaboration have shaped this narrative.
Walvistraan is the result of a project by Golrokh Nafisi in collaboration with Ahmadali Kadivar during their residency in Werkplaats Molenwijk in 2023.
Golrokh Nafisi is a visual artist whose artistic practice involves designing alternative ways of documenting time and location, shaping a new imagination of time and space to give us direction in the present. Nafisi is interested in discovering new forms of collective action involving bodies and human ideologies.
Ahmadali Kadivar is a writer, researcher and the director of Sedākhāne, the most robust archive of folk music in Iran, building resources in understanding the literary, historical and anthropological aspects of folk music culture.