Soheila Esfahani
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Soheila Esfahani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tehran, Iran |
| Education | University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario |
| Occupations | Visual artist, educator |
| Known for | Installation art, sculpture |
Esfahani was born in Tehran, Iran.[3] She moved to Canada in 1992 for her undergraduate studies.[4] She received a BA degree in fine arts from the University of Waterloo; followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.[5]
Esfahani was the receipt of the Ontario Arts Council Project Grant: mid career artist.[6] Esfahani has also received awards from Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.[7] Notably, she was nominated for the Jameel Prize at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, UK in 2015.[3]
Style and Practice
Through research and art, she investigates how culture changes during the process of translation. Her work specifically questions how cultural identity is lost, spread, and eventually reclaimed.[8]
Her work uses ornamentation and souvenirs to question how culture is lost, spread, and reclaimed in new contexts. She navigates the landscape of cultural translation by viewing these objects as 'portable culture'—vessels for tradition that remain intact even as they cross international borders.[9]