About

Born in Tehran, Iran, and based in Chicago, Naeemeh Naeemaei is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the porous boundaries between the environment and the self. Over the past fifteen years, she has investigated ecological grief, mimicry, reconstructed memory, and the relationships between human and nonhuman life through painting, photography, installation, performance, and moving image.

Her painting practice began with Dreams Before Extinction (2008–2011), a series of paintings addressing Anthropocene extinction and the loss of species and ecosystems. Her ongoing series Mina and the Leopard (2014_ongoing) examines territorial conflicts between human communities and wildlife, drawing on family photographs, historical images, oral histories, and imagined encounters to reconstruct ecological and cultural memories that have been absent from public history.

Following her migration to the United States in 2017, Naeemaei expanded her practice into photography, installation, performance, and film. Her photo-performance series Jaan (2022), explores the body as a mediator between human presence and a changing natural world. Looking for Omid (Hope) is being developed entirely in Chicago, where Naeemaei undertakes a search for Omid, the last known individual of the Western population of Siberian cranes. Revisiting her 2011 painting Siberian Crane, the film explores the tension between searching and absence, and reflects on migration, habitat, and belonging.

Naeemaei received her BFA in sculpture from Tehran Art University and her MFA from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in publications including Leonardo, Sonic Acts, Orion, Feminist Formations, and Dark Matter.

naeemeh.naeemaei@gmail.com