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The best things I have in life are my memories, and like a compulsive collector, I try to preserve, distort, and reimagine them. Central to my process of collection is my late mother's photographs, notes, diaries, and publications whose layers of identity, perception and loss guide me. By excavating her archive to revive the imprints of her existence, my material work reshapes it into a living channel that may once again be experienced.
Thomas Ogden writes of a 'primitive edge,' a space driven by sensation, texture, and emotion rather than logic. This tension mirrors my experience working with my mother’s archive of disjointed memories, fragmented writings, and scattered objects that resist coherence. In the chaos, I find flickers of her presence: a scrawled note that sounds just like her, or a photo where her expression feels familiar yet distant. It’s like skateboarding in high heels: precarious, awkward, yet strangely captivating. This mix is unapologetic. This friction between control and chaos fuels my practice, where structure emerges from disorder and fractured narratives find shape. I’ve always dreamed of skateboarding with red-bottom Louboutins on, such a vibe, right!
The tension between presence and absence becomes more apparent as I reflect on the pressure my mother felt to be the ideal woman. How couldn't a woman go crazy? Women are often taught to play nice, to smile, to be everything to everyone, but beneath the surface is an undercurrent of competition and pressure to outperform. These themes of desire, perception, and competition evolve, shifting as we navigate different spaces. Female competition often conceals vulnerability by presenting an image of strength and perfection, using control and performance to disguise the underlying insecurities and pressures. The media and societal standards perpetuate this divide, teaching us to measure our worth against external expectations, leaving us to pick up the pieces in the aftermath. My work searches for meaning in memory. The materials, textiles, glass, and print, make these intangible concepts of memory and loss physical. By layering and distorting images and symbols create an environment where memory is unstable, making it deeply human. I allow the viewer to confront the complex interplay between presence and absence, making the intangible real and giving form to the unseen. It's like wearing lipstick that’s just a little too bold or dancing like no one’s watching messy, raw, and a little bit daring, but completely your own.
-fromsamira
Education
B.F.A. in Studio (Fiber and Material Studies) | The Art Institute of Chicago 2025
Early College Program,Champlain College 2020–2021
Exhibitions
Hardboiled Gallery Spring Group Show, Chicago, IL | May 2025
SAIC Fall Undergraduate Group Exhibition, Chicago, IL | 2024
Feelings Cut in Half, Two-Person Show – Hardboiled Gallery, Chicago, IL | 2024
STRUT: SEABA Fashion Show, Generator Makerspace, Burlington, VT | 2019
Publications
Like A Field Magazine —
“How to Keep It Together (Or Not)” | Spring 2025
Swallow Press Fabric Books, Vol. 3 | 2023
Awards:
ZORA Creator Grant | 2025
SAIC Creative Honors Scholarship | 2021
Vermont Agency of Education Presidential Scholar for the Arts | 2020
Experience:
Productions Intern
David2Leather, Florence, Italy | Summer 2024
Glass Technician
AO Glass Shop, Burlington, VT | 2019–2023
Antiques Handler
The Lamp Shop, Burlington, VT | 2019–2021