In ‘Traveling Demons’, Tehran-born artist Malekeh Nayiny explores the curiously intimate relationship between oneself and their inner demon.

Matter is proudly participating in the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in May 2017 featuring Malekeh Nayiny, internationally renowned artist widely known for contrasting cultural narratives amid personal narratives in her work.

In ‘Traveling Demons’, Tehran-born artist Malekeh Nayiny explores the curiously intimate relationship between oneself and their inner demon. Both unnerving and playful, Nayiny creates sinister creatures based on the Persian mythological Div, a supernatural entity with damnable characteristics. Through one’s transformation from childhood to adulthood, Nayiny’s surprisingly kind and innocuous demons are understood as reflections of ourselves driving a world dominated by superficiality, disillusionment and fear. The papier-mâché masks and colourful patterned clothing with motifs of human organs adorned by the diabolical creatures reveal the lighthearted embrace of curious self-discovery.

Malekeh Nayiny received her B.A. in Fine Arts and Photography from Syracuse University in 1978, followed by Advanced Photography at the International Center of Photography in New York, 1980-1982. Her work has been long celebrated internationally and is included in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the British Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Nicéphore Niépce House Museum, Chalon-sur-Saône, Louis Vuitton Malletier, Fédération Nationale d’Achats des Cadres (Fnac) and the Coca Cola Corporation. The artist currently lives and works in Paris, France.

Works from the Exhibition

Featured