Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

Over the past three years I’ve been developing a body of miniature etchings often presented in an installation format with murals specifically created for each piece. The compositions and imagery are inspired by 16th and 17th century manuscripts of Iran. Hoopoe, a significant bird from Attar’s book, The Conference of The Birds, is a reoccurring figure in my images. The Hoopoe was a messenger of unity. I’m calling on Hoopoe to make a comeback and offer its wisdom to our divided world. While some animals represented in my work are randomly picked, others were seen around my studio in the Marin Headlands. There’s an indisputable perfection in the execution of the original manuscripts. My efforts in transplanting the patterns, poetry, and imagery aim to create an interweaving conversation between each of the pieces that traditionally stand alone in the manuscript. 

While at Headlands

I am a narrative visual artist that primarily works on paper. My ideas develop from drawings into more embedded forms by the process of etching. Headlands has enriched my narratives with qualities specific to its surrounding environment. The light is magical and playful, the silence deep and heavy with dreams. Vegetation, wildlife, and birds appear as metaphors and symbols in my stories. The ocean connects me to my hometown by the Caspian Sea. The fog is a soft blanket that embraces the self, the creation, and the place in unity. In my remaining time I will continue making work following the miniature series I have been creating the past three years. Having a dedicated studio has made it possible to extend my visions in physical size. I’m working on a series of wooden panel designs that will contain the etchings, resembling an amplified page of a manuscript.