I have run out of places to hide. I’ve been relocated, displaced, expelled, bureaucratically forgotten, uprooted, dissimilated and disenfranchised. I was born from Iranian parents, then on diplomatic mission in Harare. So along with Persian heritage, British upbringing and Viennese schooling, my passport labels me Iranian. Beyond simple desire to form identity without distinctive or localisable origin, I consider Art and Design fertile ground for social-transformational projects beyond “self”-despite, or perhaps thanks to a potential for self-erasure.
As a concept-driven, cross-disciplinary designer and artist, I am capable of making, thinking, building, researching and development. I resent having my works labeled “Iranian” or “Austrian” and I dread the horrendous deadlock of orientalism. I find hope in a kind of pan-European outlook, one which dismisses systemically ingrained categories like ‘immigration’ in favour of “utopian” urgency.
With the utmost respect, I have no intention of promoting one or the other institution, through my artistic endeavours. This will certainly not be my final attempt at challenging myself by branching out to areas outside my realm of studies and occupation, but rather I hope it can be one of many to follow.