Sammaneh Pourshafighi (IR/AU)

Born 1982, Tehran, Iran
Lives and works Melbourne and Gold Coast, Australia

Sammaneh Pourshafighi is a Queer Muslim who arrived in Australia as a refugee after the Iranian Revolution and grew up on the problematic paradise of the Gold Coast. Her ancestral tribes originate from Isfahan, Gilan, and Kurdistan. Her work frequently examines identity politics, mental health, diasporic tensions, and the complex relationships between bodies and environments through an intersectional feminist lens.

As part of a trans-disciplinary practice, Pourshafighi’s work encompasses film, performance art, digital art, poetry, collage, painting and photography often with an emphasis on colour, surprising contrasts and humour. Sammaneh’s works have been published by British Journal of Photography and she is a finalist in the National Photographic Portraiture Prize 2023