Biography: Journey of Becoming Artist
I started pursuing art studies in 1999 in school of fine arts, Karaj, Iran. Studying since high school years in the art field laid out a profound foundation to learn about anatomical drawings, developing photographs in darkrooms and learning about architecture design and art history around the world at a relatively early age in my life. At the age of 17 I got accepted to study for an associate degree in computer graphics at University of Anzali, Iran. Anzali felt like a city of poets and traditional art located south of the Caspian sea. The region where Anzali is located has a humid subtropical climate with rich historical sights, many of which are ruins hidden in the lush green forests as seen in figure 2. Often I hiked these natural and cultural sights during two and half years of studying, these picturesque visits gave a unique understanding of our common human roots and art in the passage of time.
Roodkhan Castle, is a brick and stone medieval fortress in north Iran photo by Amir Abdi, 2005
In 2008, after entering the job market in the design field for a year I decided to study abroad. A chain of events led me into studying a Bachelor degree in Media studies at university of Tampere, Finland. Moving to Finland opened a doorway of possibilities to learn not only in an academic setting, in which Finland carries a reputation, but also learning about a new way of thinking due to cultural, economical and geographical differences with Iran. I also did exchange studies for the duration of one academic year in the city of Manchester, England. Close collaboration between BBC networks and the University of Salford made me interested to focus my studies in storytelling, film editing and animation.
International exchange studies with focus on film and story telling next to BBC UK,. Photo by Amir Abdi, 2011
Since 2021 I am studying for Masters, Arctic art and design at the University of Lapland with focus in art based research.Through my master’s thesis I am aiming to connect my past experiences studying and working in the art field in order to take advantage of many years of art studying in a single project.
My masters of art thesis topic is related to spiritual and environmental awareness using research tools and methodology found in action based art research, qualitative research, community based art research and participatory art. My masters studies enable me to research and communicate complicated and hard to access information with verbal communication.
Photo. Snow sculpting, University of Lapland, 2022. Photo by Jana
Besides mentioned academic studies I joined multiple art classes in private institutes including sculpting, 3D animation design and drawings. Roughly 20 years of studying and working in visual arts in dozens of countries including Iran, Finland, UK, Malaysia, Hongkong, Czech Republic, Estonia has trained me in many approaches in creating art.
Photo. Studying in TAMK University enabled me to travel and learn in many different parts of the world, Hong kong at night. Photo by Amir Abdi, 2011.
