Tina Farifteh

When I saw the sun and the moon at the same time

The Fries Museum in Leeuwarden will present two exhibitions of contemporary art from 24 May 2025 to 15 March 2026. When I saw the sun and the moon at the same time features the video installation of the same name by Tina Farifteh (Tehran, Iran, 1982), a 24-hour trip in 24 minutes along the Frisian Seedyk near the village of Sexbierum, where the artist currently resides. The other exhibition, Beyond the Horizon, is a presentation of works in our collection that reflect on our connection to the world around us. The works on display offer an alternative way of contemplating our surroundings in challenging times.

Iranian-Dutch artist Tina Farifteh created the installation When I saw the sun and the moon at the same time as part of BredaPhoto. The work has now been acquired by the Fries Museum and can be seen in the exhibition of the same name in Leeuwarden from May. The installation with video and light art is the first part of Tina in Sexbierum – a transmedial project about displacement, detachment and the longing for a home, coupled with the inability to feel settled in a society that constantly denies your existence. In the work, Farifteh asks herself and the visitor the question: ‘If society offers no home, is there perhaps room in the landscape for displaced people?’

Tina Farifteh studied at Erasmus University (Rotterdam) and Royal Academy of Art (The Hague). She won several awards with her graduation project The Flood, an audiovisual installation about media coverage of refugees. Dutch newspaper NRC called her one of the rising stars in the field of culture. She also made a name for herself with her documentary Kitten or refugee, which examines our capacity for empathy and its limits. The documentary was selected for the Dutch Film Festival’s Debut Competition and won the 1st prize in the Storytelling category at De Zilveren Camera.

The project is produced by journalistic production agency Prospektor. The installation was created in collaboration with Studio Boris Acket. A museum version was developed especially for the Fries Museum, and acquired with support from the Province of Fryslân. With thanks to BredaPhoto, Mondriaan Fund, Stichting Oog op de Natuur, Stichting Forhanna and Amarte Fonds. © 2025 Prospektor.