A Rift in Reality

A Rift in Reality, from the Ocean of Imagination series, is a 2024 oil-on-canvas work by Mahshid Moochani measuring 60 × 40 cm.

Short description of the artwork

The clown rode a rhinoceros-motorcycle along the seam of reality, repairing every crack before anyone noticed. He filled one with jokes, another with speed and the deepest with a story about how nothing ever hurt him. Each repair made the road smoother and his machine harder to steer.

At noon a crack opened directly beneath them. The clown reached for a joke, but the rhinoceros said, ‘Tell it the truth.’ He whispered, ‘I’m afraid.’ The crack widened—then became a doorway rather than a fall. On the other side, the balloons cast shadows and the machine could finally turn.

Reality had not broken because he spoke. It had broken wherever he forced the truth to stay hidden, and opened when he let it through.