Taraneh Hemami (she/her) works with materials of history, organizing archives of images, data, and information, to weave complementary and contradictory narratives made manifest in objects and installations. She engages in diverse strategies to explore themes of displacement, preservation, and representation through projects that survey a variety of topics, from the concept of martyrdom to reflections of the everyday. Hemami’s architectural sculptures serve as platforms for interaction, personal reflections, and public action. They intermingle with the spaces they occupy, complicating their presence and identity, and at times altering their function. Her collaborative and curatorial projects form connections between artists, writers, and scholars through creative experimentation, promoting dialogue as a central part of both process and presentation.

Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and living and working in San Francisco, Hemami has received awards from the Creative Capital, Creative Work Fund, Center for Cultural Innovation, the California Humanities, as well as San Francisco Arts Commission. Her works have been exhibited widely, including at Pergamon Museum, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Boghossian Foundation, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Montalvo Art Center, Southern Exposure, and at the Sharjah International Biennial.

SEE(d) visited Hemami at her San Francisco studio located in the Minnesota Street Studios on Sunday, December 11, 2022 for a thought-provoking private exhibition and studio tour.