About
Mehregan Kazemi is a Nantes-based plastic artist and educator. She was born in december 1985 in Tehran, and raised in Tehran, Iran.
from 2005 to 2009 she studied photography at the University of Arts in Tehran where she developed her passion and know-
ledge for plastic arts as well as her personal technique. Along with her education she was an art critic for two different cultural
magazines. During and after her studies, Mehregan participated in numerous group exhibitions.
In 2010 following the Iranian political situation, Mehregan was forced to leave her country for France.
In 2012 she undertook a Master of Contemporary Art and New Medias in conjunction with the exhibitions in Netherlands,
England and France. She is also the designer and official photographer of the theatre company Krapo Roy.
Since late 2013, she is in residency at the Atelier du Coteau in Nantes where she pursues her artworks and teaches visual art.
Mehregan Kazemi explores, through her various works, the themes such as loneliness, the notion of the passage of time,
nostalgia, or the place of women in society, etc. Socially Committed artist, through her works she speaks for the Human
Rights.
"In my recent projects, which I present as a collection of installations and photo collages, I talk about the fact that I am an Iranian woman with plenty of issues that I've been facing, since my childhood. Another issue is the fact that I've had lots of challenges in my life before and after my immigration. Of course the challenges that I had when I was in Iran were totally different from the ones that I've been experiencing abroad, but the context is almost the same, it's just the form that has been altered.
When I was in my country, Iran, I was a woman who was supposed to be a Muslim, officially born as a Muslim without having chosen it freely. I didn't have the same education at home and at school since my family wasn't religious at all. I had to lie about my life at school and play another role (person): what made my situation even worse was that I was the daughter of a political activist and prisoner who was executed when I was 3. I never had the advantage and the right to create artworks about my real life and tell my real story back in Iran.
After my immigration I'm still hiding myself in a way. I can't totally erase the thoughts and limits (these limits have been transformed to some kind of obsession) which have become a part of my character and you can still see that in my works. I am the same person with possibly much more freedom abroad, but in a way, it's too late to change this person with all those obsessions which are a result of her environment. Unconsciously (or not), in Iran I censored myself in many ways and I'm still living this censorship, even when I’m free of all those limits! So in my works that I create now, the obsessions and the comportment that I had are still there like they have become a part of my character."
Mehregan Kazemi, née le 29 décembre 1985 à Téhéran en Iran, est une artiste plasticienne.
de 2005 à 2009 elle étudia la photographie à la prestigieuse Université des Arts de Téhéran. Cette formation lui permis
d’approfondir ses connaissances sur l'art et de developer sa technique personnelle. Parallèlement à sa formation elle fut
critique d'art pour deux différentes magazines culturelles. Une fois son cursus achevé Mehregan participa à de nombreuses
expositions collectives travaillant notamment sur la thématique de la nostalgie.
En 2010 suite à la situation politique Iranienne, Mehregan a été contrainte de quitter son pays pour la France.
En 2012 elle entrepris un Master d'Art Contemporain et Nouveau Médias parallèlement à ses expositions aux Pays-Bas, à
l'Angleterre et en France. Elle est également la scénographe et photographe attitrée de la compagnie de théâtre Krapo Roy.
Depuis fin 2013 elle est en résidence d'artiste à l'Atelier du Coteau à Nantes où elle poursuis ces travaux et enseigne dorénavant
arts plastiques.
Mehregan Kazemi explore , à travers ses différents travaux, des thématique tel que la solitude, la notion de passage du temps,
la nostalgie ou encore la place de la femme dans la société. Artiste engagée, elle milite à travers ces œuvres pour le respect des
droits de l'Hommes.
CV
Education
2014 : M, Contemporary art and New medias, University of St-Denis Paris 8
Research subject: Nostalgia: death and memory
2011-2012: French civilization, Panthéon-Sorbonne
2005-2009: B.A, Photography, Tehran University of Art
Professional experiences
2014-present: Artist residency, Atelier du Coteau, Nantes
2013-present: Designer and photographer, Theatre Company: Krapo Roy, Nantes
2013- Present: Fine Art teacher, Atelier du Coteau, Nantes
2009: Decoration work in an educational series for children, Tehran
2008-2009: Cooperation with "Sarpich" magazine (Philosophy and Art), Tehran
2008: Photographer in the short film "souvenir photo", Tehran
2007-2009: Fine Art teacher for the association“ Koodakane kar va khiaban” (Association for the protection of children working in the street), Tehran
2007: Member of the direction of the second photo festival of “Tehran University of Art”,Tehran
2007-2009: Participation in the drafting of the monthly magazine "Kalotip" (the first student professional photography magazine in Iran), Tehran
Selected Exhibitions
2017: Group exhibition, W139, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017: Festival des Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France
2016: Group exhibition, Gallery 18, Nantes, France
2016: Group exhibition, Ffotogallery Gallery, Wales, England
2015: Group exhibition, Gallery 18, Nantes, France
2015: Solo exhibition, Gallery 18, Nantes, France
2014: Group exhibition, Gallery 18, Nantes, France
2014: Group exhibition, Vrij Academie-GEMAK, The Hague, Netherlands
2014: Solo exhibition in l'atelier du Coteau, Nantes
2014: Participation in the 7th art festival: “ L'Art prend l'air”, Nantes, France
2012: Group exhibition, Ffotogallery Gallery, Wales, England
2009-2010: Collaboration and participation for two exhibitions with artist Minno Baartmans, Gallery de Wolven, Arnhem, Netherlands
2009: Group exhibition, Aran Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2009: Duet exhibition, Laleh Gallery, Tehran, Iran
2006: Group exhibition, Honar Gallery, Tehran, Iran
Languages
Persian, English, French
ETUDES EN IRAN
2004: Obtention d'un Bac S à Téhéran
2009: Obtention d'une Licence( bac+4) de photographie à l'Université des arts de Téhéran
ETUDES EN FRANCE
2010-2012: Cours de civilisation française à la Sorbonne
2014: Master 1 en art contemporain et nouveaux médias à l'Université Paris 8
EXPERIENCES PROFESSIONNELLES
2007-2009: Participation à la rédaction de “Kalotip” magazine mensuel (le premier magazine professionnel des étudiants de photographie en Iran)
2007: Membre de la direction du deuxième festival Photo Art de l'Université des Arts de Téhéran
2007-2009: Animatrice des ateliers artistiques “ Kudakan-e kar va khiaban” (Association pour la protection des enfants qui travaillent dans la rue.)
2008: Photographe dans le court métrage “photo souvenir”
2008-2009: Coopération à la rédaction de “Sarpich” magazine
2009: Travail de décoration dans une série éducative pour enfants
2012-2013: Animatrice d'atelier anglais pour la compagnie «Play English»
2013-2014: Animatrice d'atelier artistique-multilingue pour l'atelier du Coteau dans le cadre du stage universitaire
2013 à ce jour: Scénographe et photographe attitrée de la compagnie de théâtre Krapo Roy
à ce jour: Artiste résidente à l'Atelier du Coteau et animatrice d'atelier artistique- multilingue et d'atelier d'arts plastiques pour l'Atelier du Coteau
EXPOSITIONS
2006: Exposition collective, Galerie Honar, Téhéran, Iran
2009: Exposition duo, Galerie Laleh, Téhéran, Iran
2009: Exposition collective, Galerie Aran, Téhéran, Iran
2009-2010: Collaboration pour deux expositions aux Pays bas avec l'artiste Minno
Baartmans
2012: Exposition collective, Galerie Ffotogallery, Wales, l'Angleterre
2014: Participation au festival « l'art prend l'air »
2014: Exposition solo, Atelier du Coteau, Nantes, France
2014: Exposition collective, Vrij Academie-GEMAK, La Haye, Pays-bas
2014: Exposition collective, Galerie 18, Nantes, France
2015: Exposition solo, Galerie 18, Nantes, France
2015: Exposition collective, Galerie 18, Nantes, France
2016: Exposition collective, Galerie Ffotogallery, Wales, l'Angleterre
2016: Exposition collective, Galerie 18, Nantes, France
2017: Festival des Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France
2017: Exposition collective, W139, Amsterdam, Pays-Bas
LANGUES
Persan, Anglais, Français