Babak Ganjei: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Artist and illustrator}} |
{{Short description|Artist and illustrator}} |
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{{Infobox artist |
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'''Babak Ganjei''' is a London-based artist and illustrator noted for his [[Word art|text-based paintings]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2021-06-09 |title=Babak Ganjei’s confessional artworks reveal his hilarious inner monologue |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/53125/1/babak-ganjei-confessional-artworks-reveal-his-hilarious-inner-monologue |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> |
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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1978}} |
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'''Babak Ganjei''' (born 1978) is an English artist and illustrator based in [[London]]. He is known for his humorous and confessional artworks. |
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== Early life and education == |
== Early life and education == |
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Ganjei was born in London, |
Ganjei was born in London in 1978, after his parents moved from Iran the year before.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Ganjei |first=Babak |title=Art Is The Thing Nobody Asked You To Do |publisher=[[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade Books]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-914236-10-5 |pages=}}</ref> He grew up around [[Primrose Hill]] until moving to Bournemouth at the age of eleven. He has described this move as "a bit like suddenly being the only ethnics in the town" and as "guaranteeing that our teenage years were spent understanding what it is to be an outsider". He started drawing at a young age, as his mother was a painter, and his father an architect.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Quietus |first=The |date=2018-01-28 |title=Buisness Propositions: Babak Ganjei Talks Art, Ideas, And eBay |url=https://thequietus.com/culture/art/babak-ganjei-interview-barclaycard/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=The Quietus |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Georgia |title=Jokes And Genius: Babak Ganjei At Browns East |url=https://www.brownsfashion.com/uk/story/babak-ganjei-at-browns-east |work=[[Browns (fashion boutique)|Browns]]}}</ref> |
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Ganjei studied at [[Central Saint Martins]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |
Ganjei studied at [[Central Saint Martins]] in London.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Silver |first=Hannah|date=2021-08-06 |title=Babak Ganjei: ‘If Instagram went down I don’t know if I’d exist’ |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/art/babak-ganjei-interview |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=wallpaper.com |language=en}}</ref> He graduated in 2001 with a degree in fine arts, according to an oil-painted [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] he exhibited in 2018.<ref name=":0" /> |
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He describes his early influences as the band [[Nirvana]], and the [[Do it yourself#Music|punk / DIY aesthetic]].<ref name=":1" /> |
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== Career == |
== Career == |
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Ganjei has described the years 2005 to 2011 as when he "join[ed] bands to be broke in a gang". |
According to Hannah Silver writing for ''[[Wallpaper (magazine)|Wallpaper]]'', the decade after Ganjei graduated was spent playing in bands and creating comics. Ganjei has described the years 2005 to 2011 as when he "join[ed] bands to be broke in a gang".<ref name=":0" /> During this period, he published the comic book ''Hilarious Consequences'' (2010), and played in the band [[Absentee (band)|Absentee]] for six years.<ref name=":0" /> They were signed to [[Memphis Industries|Mephis Industries]], and released their final album in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Absentee Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} ... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/absentee-mn0000634894#biography |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Ganjei and two other members of Absentee were also in the band Wet Paint.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wet Paint really should be bigger than they are |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/wet-paint/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Loud And Quiet |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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⚫ | In 2014, Ganjei received coverage from [[Daily Express|''Daily'' ''Expres''s]], ''[[The Independent]]'', ''[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]'', and [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] for auctioning some twigs on [[eBay]]<ref name=":0" /> alongside other unusual items like handwritten "[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song|Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]" lyrics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saul |first=Heather |date=2014-03-29 |title='Unique' twigs go on eBay - and attract bids |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/unique-twigs-go-on-ebay-and-attract-bids-9223236.html |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> The same year, he published ''Babak Ganjei's Roadhouse'', a graphic novel based on the 1989 [[Patrick Swayze]] film [[Road House (1989 film)|''Road House'']]. It was described as "astonishingly good" by Aaron Souppouris of ''[[The Verge]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Souppouris |first=Aaron |date=2014-07-30 |title=Patrick Swayze kicks ass in an illustrated, philosophical 'Road House' |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/30/5951141/babak-ganjeis-roadhouse-graphic-novel-interview-photo-essay |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref> |
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In 2017, [[Channel 4]]'s short film series ''Random Acts'' featured Ganjei's satirical animated comedy ''Taste of Your Own Food'', about dating in supermarkets. He has also produced the short films ''Waiting for Potato'' and ''Freelancer'' with production company [[Blink (company)|Blink]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Curtis Brown |url=https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/babak-ganjei |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=www.curtisbrown.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Quietus |first=The |date=2017-09-01 |title=WATCH: Teaser For Babak Ganjei's Random Acts |url=https://thequietus.com/news/taste-of-your-own-food-random-acts/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=The Quietus |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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⚫ | In 2018, Ganjei exhibited a solo show, ''It’s Really Not Funny'', at London's War Gallery. Works displayed in this show included an oil-painted CV, and a painting of his [[Barclaycard]]. He tried to sell the painting to Barclaycard, but they did not purchase it and suggested he cancel his card for security reasons.<ref name=":0" /> |
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He also published his first book with [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade Books]], ''Film Ideas''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ganjei |first=Babak |title=Film Ideas |publisher=[[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]] |isbn=978-1-912722-09-9 |publication-date=2018}}</ref> The concept for the book originated when Ganjei was [[retweeted]] by comedian [[Rob Delaney]], and was consequently followed on [[Twitter]] by a number of film producers. Babak then started tweeting film ideas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FILM IDEAS - Babak Ganjei |url=https://roughtradebooks.com/products/films-ideas-babak-ganjei?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=7dbdc6f5b&pr_rec_pid=5784983535769&pr_ref_pid=6906114670745&pr_seq=uniform |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Rough Trade Books |language=en}}</ref> |
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In 2019, Ganjei featured in the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life?'' with his son Arthur.<ref name="bbcr4">{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004sdw |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> When Arthur turned 12, this was followed with another programme, ''Arthur Cares'', in which he acted as an [[agony uncle]] and dressed his father up as a dinosaur to promote his father's art.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sawyer |first=Miranda |date=2020-12-19 |title=The week in radio and podcasts: Arthur Cares; Where Is George Gibney?; Mothers of Invention |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/dec/19/arthur-cares-review-where-is-george-gibney-mothers-of-invention-podcast-mary-robinson-bernie-sanders |access-date=2024-11-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - Arthur Cares |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q8nr |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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In 2021, fashion boutique [[Browns (fashion boutique)|Browns]] showed a selection of Ganjei's [[Neon sign|neons]] and works on paper in their Shoreditch store in an exhibition called ''Honey Wagon''. Ganjei described the structure of the show as being like a band playing a set full of greatest hits.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2021-06-09 |title=Babak Ganjei’s confessional artworks reveal his hilarious inner monologue |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/53125/1/babak-ganjei-confessional-artworks-reveal-his-hilarious-inner-monologue |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> This year he also published his second book with Rough Trade, ''Art Is The Thing Nobody Asked You To Do'', which the publisher describes as "a radical new take on the artists' manifesto".<ref>{{Cite web |title=ART IS THE THING NOBODY ASKED YOU TO DO - Babak Ganjei |url=https://roughtradebooks.com/products/art-is-the-thing-nobody-asked-you-to-do-babak-ganjei |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Rough Trade Books |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> In 2021 Ganjei also designed a commission for [[Bluecoat Chambers|Liverpool's Bluecoat gallery]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Bluecoat to host major exhibitions by Babak Ganjei, Joshua Clague,… |url=https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/about/news/bluecoat-to-host-major-exhibitions-by-babak-ganjei-joshua-clague-michelle-williams-gamaker-and-dahong-hongxuan-wang-as-part-of-2024-programme |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Bluecoat |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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He would work with the Bluecoat again for a 2024 solo show, ''Thanks for Having Me.'' This included a section entitled "Greatest Hits".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Double Negative" Portrait of the Artist as aMiddle-Aged ManBabak Ganjei @ Bluecoat – Reviewed |url=https://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2024/04/portrait-of-the-artist-as-amiddle-aged-manbabak-ganjei-bluecoat-reviewed/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |language=en-US}}</ref> The gallery described Ganjei's exhibition as "reflecting back on a life of operating on the margins and never quite being sure where he belongs".<ref name=":5" /> |
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As part of a promotion for the soft drink [[Irn-Bru]], Ganjei exhibited his work in ''The BEEP Show.'' This consisted of [[word art]] paintings inspired by awkward or embarrassing text messages people have sent, and was shown in November 2024 at pop-up galleries in London and Edinburgh.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Lauren |date=2024-11-26 |title=Pop-up gallery dedicates exhibition to texts Brits regret sending |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/pop-up-gallery-london-glasgow-34191939 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Sean |date=2024-11-29 |title=Irn-Bru launch Glasgow exhibition dedicated to cringe-inducing sent messages |url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/irn-bru-launch-glasgow-exhibition-30479808 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Glasgow Live |language=en}}</ref> |
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Ganjei hosts a show, ''Hot Mess'', on [[NTS Radio]].<ref name=":2" /> |
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== Style and influences == |
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Ganjei describes his early influences as the band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], and the [[Do it yourself#Music|punk / DIY aesthetic]]. His work is frequently confessional and humorous.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He is noted for his [[Word art|text-based paintings]], which ''Dazed'' described as "reading like fragments of a diary or notebook while often exposing the mechanisms of their own production ('This art takes about 15-20 min') or revealing snippets of dialogue from his interior monologue ('I'm in the bush outside and I really love you')".<ref name=":1" /> |
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Emily Gosling writing for ''It's Nice That'' described his paintings of [[Sitting-room|sitting rooms]] from [[sitcom]]s as having a [[Naïve art|naive style]]. Gosling also described his illustrations of acts playing London's Vision festival, including [[Camera Obscura (band)|Camera Obscura]], [[Fat White Family]], [[Holy Fuck]] and [[Jens Lekman]], as "sweet doodlings".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Babak Ganjei paints 90s sitcom sitting rooms. But which one's which? |url=https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/babak-ganjei-sitcom-sitting-rooms-070616 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.itsnicethat.com |language=en}}</ref> |
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⚫ | In 2014, Ganjei received coverage from [[Daily Express|''Daily'' ''Expres''s]], ''[[The Independent]]'', ''[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]'', and [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] for auctioning some twigs on [[eBay]]<ref name=":0" /> alongside other unusual items like handwritten [[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song|Fresh Prince of Bel Air]] lyrics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saul |first=Heather |date=2014-03-29 |title='Unique' twigs go on eBay - and attract bids |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/unique-twigs-go-on-ebay-and-attract-bids-9223236.html |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> |
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A review of his Bluecoat show for ''Art in Liverpool'' described the exhibition of a letter to a friend with the line "I could keep going but there’s a part of me that is already thinking I need to keep this snappy in case it is published or printed on a wall" as "performance [art] of the self in a uniquely dishonest form".<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-03-04 |title=Review: Babak Ganjei: Thanks for Having Me, at Bluecoat |url=https://www.artinliverpool.com/features-old-posts-archive/reviews/review-babak-ganjei-thanks-for-having-me-at-bluecoat/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Art in Liverpool |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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⚫ | In 2018, Ganjei exhibited a solo show, ''It’s Really Not Funny'', at London's War Gallery. Works displayed in this show included an oil-painted CV, and a painting of his |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganjei, Babak}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganjei, Babak}} |
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[[Category:21st-century British artists]] |
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[[Category:Alumni of Central Saint Martins]] |
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[[Category:Artists from Bournemouth]] |
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[[Category:Artists from the London Borough of Camden]] |
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[[Category:English contemporary artists]] |
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[[Category:English people of Iranian descent]] |
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[[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]] |
Latest revision as of 14:33, 2 December 2024
Babak Ganjei | |
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Born | 1978 (age 45–46) |
Babak Ganjei (born 1978) is an English artist and illustrator based in London. He is known for his humorous and confessional artworks.
Early life and education
[edit]Ganjei was born in London in 1978, after his parents moved from Iran the year before.[1] He grew up around Primrose Hill until moving to Bournemouth at the age of eleven. He has described this move as "a bit like suddenly being the only ethnics in the town" and as "guaranteeing that our teenage years were spent understanding what it is to be an outsider". He started drawing at a young age, as his mother was a painter, and his father an architect.[2][3]
Ganjei studied at Central Saint Martins in London.[4] He graduated in 2001 with a degree in fine arts, according to an oil-painted CV he exhibited in 2018.[2]
Career
[edit]According to Hannah Silver writing for Wallpaper, the decade after Ganjei graduated was spent playing in bands and creating comics. Ganjei has described the years 2005 to 2011 as when he "join[ed] bands to be broke in a gang".[2] During this period, he published the comic book Hilarious Consequences (2010), and played in the band Absentee for six years.[2] They were signed to Mephis Industries, and released their final album in 2008.[5] Ganjei and two other members of Absentee were also in the band Wet Paint.[6]
In 2014, Ganjei received coverage from Daily Express, The Independent, Metro, and BBC Radio 5 Live for auctioning some twigs on eBay[2] alongside other unusual items like handwritten "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" lyrics.[7] The same year, he published Babak Ganjei's Roadhouse, a graphic novel based on the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Road House. It was described as "astonishingly good" by Aaron Souppouris of The Verge.[8]
In 2017, Channel 4's short film series Random Acts featured Ganjei's satirical animated comedy Taste of Your Own Food, about dating in supermarkets. He has also produced the short films Waiting for Potato and Freelancer with production company Blink.[9][10]
In 2018, Ganjei exhibited a solo show, It’s Really Not Funny, at London's War Gallery. Works displayed in this show included an oil-painted CV, and a painting of his Barclaycard. He tried to sell the painting to Barclaycard, but they did not purchase it and suggested he cancel his card for security reasons.[2]
He also published his first book with Rough Trade Books, Film Ideas.[11] The concept for the book originated when Ganjei was retweeted by comedian Rob Delaney, and was consequently followed on Twitter by a number of film producers. Babak then started tweeting film ideas.[12]
In 2019, Ganjei featured in the BBC Radio 4 programme Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life? with his son Arthur.[13] When Arthur turned 12, this was followed with another programme, Arthur Cares, in which he acted as an agony uncle and dressed his father up as a dinosaur to promote his father's art.[14][15]
In 2021, fashion boutique Browns showed a selection of Ganjei's neons and works on paper in their Shoreditch store in an exhibition called Honey Wagon. Ganjei described the structure of the show as being like a band playing a set full of greatest hits.[16] This year he also published his second book with Rough Trade, Art Is The Thing Nobody Asked You To Do, which the publisher describes as "a radical new take on the artists' manifesto".[17][1] In 2021 Ganjei also designed a commission for Liverpool's Bluecoat gallery.[18]
He would work with the Bluecoat again for a 2024 solo show, Thanks for Having Me. This included a section entitled "Greatest Hits".[19] The gallery described Ganjei's exhibition as "reflecting back on a life of operating on the margins and never quite being sure where he belongs".[18]
As part of a promotion for the soft drink Irn-Bru, Ganjei exhibited his work in The BEEP Show. This consisted of word art paintings inspired by awkward or embarrassing text messages people have sent, and was shown in November 2024 at pop-up galleries in London and Edinburgh.[20][21]
Ganjei hosts a show, Hot Mess, on NTS Radio.[3]
Style and influences
[edit]Ganjei describes his early influences as the band Nirvana, and the punk / DIY aesthetic. His work is frequently confessional and humorous.[16][4] He is noted for his text-based paintings, which Dazed described as "reading like fragments of a diary or notebook while often exposing the mechanisms of their own production ('This art takes about 15-20 min') or revealing snippets of dialogue from his interior monologue ('I'm in the bush outside and I really love you')".[16]
Emily Gosling writing for It's Nice That described his paintings of sitting rooms from sitcoms as having a naive style. Gosling also described his illustrations of acts playing London's Vision festival, including Camera Obscura, Fat White Family, Holy Fuck and Jens Lekman, as "sweet doodlings".[22]
A review of his Bluecoat show for Art in Liverpool described the exhibition of a letter to a friend with the line "I could keep going but there’s a part of me that is already thinking I need to keep this snappy in case it is published or printed on a wall" as "performance [art] of the self in a uniquely dishonest form".[23]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ganjei, Babak (2021). Art Is The Thing Nobody Asked You To Do. Rough Trade Books. ISBN 978-1-914236-10-5.
- ^ a b c d e f Quietus, The (2018-01-28). "Buisness Propositions: Babak Ganjei Talks Art, Ideas, And eBay". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ a b Graham, Georgia. "Jokes And Genius: Babak Ganjei At Browns East". Browns.
- ^ a b Silver, Hannah (2021-08-06). "Babak Ganjei: 'If Instagram went down I don't know if I'd exist'". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ "Absentee Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Wet Paint really should be bigger than they are". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ Saul, Heather (2014-03-29). "'Unique' twigs go on eBay - and attract bids". The Independent.
- ^ Souppouris, Aaron (2014-07-30). "Patrick Swayze kicks ass in an illustrated, philosophical 'Road House'". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ Quietus, The (2017-09-01). "WATCH: Teaser For Babak Ganjei's Random Acts". The Quietus. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ Ganjei, Babak (2018). Film Ideas. Rough Trade. ISBN 978-1-912722-09-9.
- ^ "FILM IDEAS - Babak Ganjei". Rough Trade Books. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Can My Eleven Year Old Fix My Life?". BBC. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ Sawyer, Miranda (2020-12-19). "The week in radio and podcasts: Arthur Cares; Where Is George Gibney?; Mothers of Invention". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Arthur Cares". BBC. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
- ^ a b c Dazed (2021-06-09). "Babak Ganjei's confessional artworks reveal his hilarious inner monologue". Dazed. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ "ART IS THE THING NOBODY ASKED YOU TO DO - Babak Ganjei". Rough Trade Books. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ a b "Bluecoat to host major exhibitions by Babak Ganjei, Joshua Clague,…". Bluecoat. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ "The Double Negative" Portrait of the Artist as aMiddle-Aged ManBabak Ganjei @ Bluecoat – Reviewed". Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- ^ Edwards, Lauren (2024-11-26). "Pop-up gallery dedicates exhibition to texts Brits regret sending". The Mirror. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
- ^ Murphy, Sean (2024-11-29). "Irn-Bru launch Glasgow exhibition dedicated to cringe-inducing sent messages". Glasgow Live. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
- ^ "Babak Ganjei paints 90s sitcom sitting rooms. But which one's which?". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Review: Babak Ganjei: Thanks for Having Me, at Bluecoat". Art in Liverpool. 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-11-27.