Layla Nami – 2024


Primary Medium

Printmaking

Address

681 morgan ave
Brooklyn, 11222

Artist Statement

Growing up with an Iranian Muslim father and an American Christian mother, I was constantly surrounded by Islamic and Christian imagery and art. Images of demons devouring sinners terrified me, but I couldn’t look away. Descriptions of the apocalypse from Revelations haunted me. Our apartment was covered in intricate Kashani carpets from my dad’s hometown of Kashan, and engraved tea sets and mirrors with metal carvings of intertwined animals and plants decorated our living room. As a child, my father told me Persian folktales before bed, and they were filled with magical animals and desperate people. Aspects from both cultures have become deeply intertwined in my work both as a child and as an adult, and I began to look more at images of illuminated manuscripts and medieval tapestries for inspiration. I’m fascinated by seemingly sinister figures and creatures, and the uncanny sense of fear or foreboding surrounding certain images from movies seen and nightmares I had when I was little. A lot of my inspiration comes from horror movies and graphic novels as well. The role of predator and prey, watcher and watched, play a large role in the narratives of the creatures in my drawings, which are myths of my own creation

Links

Website: https://laylanamiart.com/
Instagram: @laylawalmartbag