Stacy Mehrfar, from the series Down in the Forest, We Sing a Chorus, 2020-21
This week we welcome Stacy Mehrfar, a first-generation Iranian-American artist. Drawing from personal history, her photographs, video installations and photobooks raise questions about how we build and sustain community. Central to her practice is an examination of the symbiotic relationship between the individual and the group and how landscape shapes identity.
Growing up with clashing cultures, Mehrfar navigated social structures and assimilation challenges early in life. As an adult, she immigrated to Australia, where shifting continents further complicated her self-perception. A sense of alienation returned when she moved back to the U.S. after a decade abroad.
Stacy Mehrfar, from the series Down in the Forest, We Sing a Chorus, 2020-21
In her most recent series, “Down in the Forest, We Sing a Chorus,” Mehrfar explores the symbiosis of nature’s ecosystems and humankind. These black and white photographs of body and forest emphasize interconnection, transformation and fragility. This project grew from related ideas in two recent bodies of work.
Stacy Mehrfar, from the series The Moon Belongs to Everyone, 2014-2020
“The Moon Belongs to Everyone” (TMBTE) is a series of photographs and an immersive video installation. Incorporating portraits, landscapes and still lifes, TMBTE reflects upon the loss of roots and the search for social belonging in the process of immigration. The photobook was published by GOST Books, London, in March 2021and includes over 57 photographs taken in Australia and New York.
Stacy Mehrfar, from A Collective Performance, 2018
The five-channel stop motion video, “A Collective Performance,” was created with over 4500 still photographs from more than 40 protests from 2017-2018. This stop motion multi-channel video looks closely at how individuals’ actions and collective performances speak to social cohesion and the importance of temporal community.
See more of Mehrfar’s work on her website and instagram.
