Anahita Akhavan's artistic practice draws inspiration from her experiences in Iran.

After migrating to Canada, the artist explored Iranian archives held within Western institutional collections in an effort to connect with her heritage. Through her research, Akhavan found an increasing gap between her lived experiences and imperial museological collecting methodologies;  ‘reimagining’ appropriated objects and histories through the problematic lens of the museum as expert.

Akhavan’s work signals the disparities in cultural representation and challenges the viewer to think deeply about the history of collecting, and its role in the control and colonization of cultural narratives. She takes influence from the Islamic art world, its significance, and its functions. Employing a variety of mediums in her practice, including ink drawing, painting, printmaking, digital print, laser cutting, and video projection enables the exploration and expression of complex themes. During a recent residency at the Banff Center for the Arts, Akhavan experimented with prayer rug designs, working with motifs and foliage arrangements challenging their traditional functions and interrupting their conventions, spiritual significance, and aesthetic values. Her use of azure draws parellels to Iranian gardens and water, each essential for their purifying and healing properties, motifs and themes Akhavan has explored in her body of work previously. Azure becomes a metaphorical bridge connecting past and present, the immigrant self to the future self, a sign of the transformative journey of her artistic exploration. Her semiotic approach explores themes of identity, belonging, and multiple realities creating a hybridized visual language that reflects her personal immigrant experience.