Surrounded by majestic mountains and a beautiful desert oasis, Shirin Abedinirad, an Iranian land artist, has created a second home for herself in Utah — which shares more in common with her native country than she originally expected. Now a faculty member at Utah Valley University School of the Arts in the Department of Art & Design, Abedinirad expresses her love of Utah’s land through exhibitions pieces in the currently installed show Healing Waters: Restoring Our Relationship with Utah Lake at the UVU Museum of Art.  

From a young age, Abedinirad’s parents were great supporters of her art, buying her new art supplies, exposing her to different cultures for inspiration, and even sending her artwork off to competitions across the world. After completing her undergraduate degree, Abedinirad was working as a teaching assistant when she became interested in exploring art in the United States. “I was curious about new mediums like bio art and queer art,” Abedinirad explained. “I wanted to have more freedom to express myself. There is a lot of censorship and limitation in Iran.” 

Four years ago, she immigrated to the United States as a student, studying for her Master of Fine Art degree at Michigan State University. However, as an artist who takes inspiration primarily from her environment, she felt disconnected from the landscape of Michigan, where the humid greenery was so different from her home in Iran. “They were beautiful scenes, but not in a way that I could get inspired,” Abedinirad said. “I didn’t create any land art for three years.” However, a trip out to Utah, where the landscape was nostalgic and familiar, watered the ground of her creative roots. 
 
“There is a lake in my home country called Urmia Lake,” Abedinirad said. “I used to see it as a child when we would travel to visit my aunt. I saw the Great Salt Lake when visiting to see the Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson and said, ‘This is just like my country, Iran’.’”  
 
Abedinirad shared that this trip, and the subsequent move to Utah to be a teacher in the UVU Department of Art & Design, was the catalyst for her pieces centered on the Utah landscape. “I knew then I was looking to create a piece for either the Great Salt Lake or Utah Lake,” she explained. “So, the call for art for the Museum’s exhibition was the perfect opportunity.” 

The work that sprouted from her newfound inspiration — which lives as part of the Museum’s exhibition — contains multiple pieces in various mediums, including videos of performance art filmed on the shores of Utah Lake. Her most visually striking piece, red roots made of felt that spread down the gallery walls and across its wooden floor, represent the connection between all living things, in and around the lake.  

Abedinirad described the vision behind her work:. “The red roots are inspired by the color and meaning of the root chakra which symbolizes the feeling of connecting to the nature within us all.”  

The exhibition, which hosts a plethora of works created to honor Utah Lake, will be on display through September 27. Admission is free, and guests are encouraged to participate in Utah Lake-themed events throughout the duration. 

Felt is Abedinirad’s current favored medium, and as a faculty member who teaches 3D design and sculpture, she is preparing to teach this technique in upcoming semesters. The variety of techniques and skills available to the students to learn is a feature that Abedinirad feels sets UVU’s arts degrees apart from others. “Our professors and programs are at a level where this could be an MFA degree,” Abedinirad laughed. “We have very skilled teachers here who are passionate about what they do.”  

Prior to the start of classes in the fall, Abedinirad will have participated in not one but two prestigious art residencies. Her summer started with a 21-day stay in a remote forest at the foot of the Himalayan mountains and will end with Art Omi, a month-long convergence of international artists in upstate New York, organized for creative experimentation, collaboration, and networking.  

As she prepares for the upcoming school year, Abedinirad had this message to share with her current and future students: “Always follow your heart — and just create the art!”