Samaneh Shares her Passion

Our Lab Technician, Samaneh Zahedi Abdolhadi shares her talent, culture and personal philosophy through her creation of Persian art.

Painting is an unexplained addiction that has been placed upon me. I was always fascinated by painting for as long as I remember.

I showed an interest in Persian miniature (negârgari irâni) when I was in middle school, Influenced by the works of Mahmoud Farshchian (master of Persian painting and miniatures), I started to build and develop my art practice during high school and university, of course beside Science!

Now I can say, I am a self-taught watercolour and mixed media artist working in the medium of watercolour paints on paper. I am inspired by Persian Illumination art which is patterns and ornaments of Persian rugs. I make use of traditional patterns in an unconventional way that makes contemporary art.

As a migrant, life is giving me different views, and taught me to observe things in a different way. It is the observation that creates the difference and gives me lots of creative ideas for my artworks. I am trying to show that we can see differently even within our tradition and present a hybrid of cultural traditions and modern art.

Migration gave me a flexible view in my life, I’m trying to show this flexibility by mixing freestyle watercolour with solid traditional painting.

- Samaneh Zahedi Abdolhadi