The artist Samira Abbassy barely had a chance to know Iran, the country where she was born in 1965; she emigrated to London at the age of 2. As a Middle Eastern woman living first in Britain and then in the United States — she moved to New York in 1998 — Ms. Abbassy has described often feeling alone, isolated and displaced; she recalled little of her native country. Her paintings try to bridge this divide, depicting an imaginary space, a place of inclusion, in which she explores ideas of identity and her somewhat ambivalent relationship to Iranian culture. Ms. Abbassy is one of an Arab-Iranian minority of Arabic speakers in Iran, where the dominant language is Persian.
Inspired by Persian & Indian miniature painting tradition, as well as outsider art. Visually, Abbassys work reflects her cross-cultural heritage in a number of ways. She draws on the visual traditions of both Middle Eastern and Western art in a manner that is neither superficial nor eclectic, but rooted firmly in her belonging to both cultures. The recurring themes in her work aim toward a shared mythology and iconography that underlies both societies. She excavates through layers of often-contradictory cultural identity towards an understanding of her own background. Here's the link to her personal website:
http://www.samiraabbassy.com/index.html
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