My practice explores profound connection between environmental crises and women's issues, blurring the boundaries between them. I delve into the intricate relationship among nature, society, and women's experiences.
The communication between wrinkles and water plays a pivotal role in my practice. The desert serves as a constant inspiration, where water coordinates amidst dry folds. The story of desert, qanat (aqueduct), and water forms a complex cycle, with water flowing beneath an arid skin, sometimes dormant for centuries and other times surging briefly. I explore the intricate movements of water that create and sustain life, existing as differentiated entities across space and time. Women, the evolutionary sources of my art, dissolve into desert, symbolizing the transformative power of water and women in sustaining life even in harsh environments. They flow onto my handmade papers, seemingly merging with the qanat and the desert, representing their indispensable role. I examine the delicate balance of life in this fragile ecosystem, where communities' livelihoods depend on equitable access to water resources.
I am particularly drawn to rural women's role in achieving sustainable livelihoods through collaborative and equitable water resource management, such as the ancient Persian underground aqueducts known as qanats. These women have innovatively conserved and allocated precious water resources, using their income to maintain the qanats and sustain their communities.
Paper embodies the transformative power of water. The tactile process of papermaking provides insights and a meditative connection to nature. Through large-scale and three-dimensional handmade paper, with a combination of layers of pulp painting and screen-printing to feature cultural motifs of my work, I create intricate papers metaphorically representing women's resilience and water importance in the desert, embodying their nurturing and transformative qualities. This interconnectedness highlights the struggle for survival, the pursuit of balance, and the recognition of the intrinsic value of all life.