Hadieh Afshani is an Iranian-born visual artist based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Working across painting, mixed media, installation, and performance, her practice explores themes of memory, displacement, belonging, and the search for connection. Drawing from her experiences of migration and cultural transition, she creates layered works that combine transparency, texture, and intricate detail to reflect the complexity of personal and collective histories. Afshani has exhibited internationally and holds a BA in Fine Arts from Alzahra University in Tehran and an MFA from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia. Her work has been recognized through exhibitions, awards, and community-based art projects in Australia and the United States.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Hadieh Afshani's work explores themes of memory, displacement, belonging, and human connection. Having lived in Iran, Australia, and the United States, she draws from her experiences of migration and cultural transition to create layered visual narratives that reflect both uncertainty and resilience.

Working across painting and mixed media, Afshani builds surfaces through transparent layers, allowing images, marks, and textures to emerge gradually. This process mirrors the way memories accumulate and identities are shaped over time. Her practice investigates the relationship between personal experience and broader social themes, including home, community, motherhood, and the longing to belong.

Through her work, Afshani creates spaces for reflection and recognition, inviting viewers to consider their own connections to place, history, and one another. The layered nature of her process serves as a metaphor for the complexity of human experience, revealing how individual stories are intertwined with larger cultural and collective narratives.