The Work

My work in the series Distances Near Away, Journeys In-Between, and Domain of Differences, explore the transitory instances of time when one’s awareness is threaded between the present and a similar moment remembered from the past. At times, these threaded moments have hard juxtapositions due to differences from the change of context, the passage of time, or a change of place. Other times, they blend and fuse a sense of continuity that are more fluid and often share a moment of contemplation. Oftentimes my work is a reflection on the poetics of migration and the stories of exile. 

As a Persian-American artist, my work is informed by idealized landscapes and intricate designs of early Persian art. Persian miniature paintings are adorned with intricate depictions of flowers, plants, and tightly woven patterns of imaginary gardens. In Persian poetry, a flower often symbolizes a fleeting moment, a poetic remembrance of life's transience and fragility. In my work, a flower becomes a visual metaphor for a sense of connection with a remembered past. I often include poems in my work. These poems become an accompanying voice within the work. Sometimes the poems echo a sense of hope or longing, other times they evoke a sense of disorientation or doubt, as might be felt by an immigrant or an exile, on a life’s journey, of being in-between.

The work in the series At a Distance explores moments of contemplation induced by the empathetic rhythms of the ocean’s waves and the enormity of its unyielding waters. We become transfixed between the familiar day-to-day repetitions of our life, and our journey within the enormous totality of all things.

The Artist

Saba is part of the present day Persian diaspora. Her work explores transitory instances of time, either shared or solitary, visceral or recalled. Originally from Tehran, and having lived in Asia, Europe and the United States, Saba has firsthand experience living between cultures, languages, and traditions. Her work is often influenced by Persian art in its structure and form. Additionally, Saba’s work is influenced by literature as experienced and shared in a modern multicultural society. Saba studied art and design at the California Institute of the Arts and the University of Oregon where she received her MFA. She has worked on art and design commissions, and has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions. Saba lives in the United States and spends her time between California and Texas.