Artist statement: 

My work is a journey of exploring identity, self-perception, and the nuances of living within and against the backdrop of Western culture. Working mainly through acrylic painting, with finishing touches in oil, or digital illustration, and occasionally raw, tactile methods like finger painting, I aim to capture the complexity of human experience and the often surreal nature of self-reflection. My work frequently gravitates toward portraiture, but I like to question the boundaries between reality and abstraction.

As a first-generation American, my perspective is shaped by a blend of cultural influences, particularly those surrounding the intersection of feminism, identity, and representation. Growing up with a deep awareness of both my heritage and my mother’s role as an arts educator, I often think about whose voices are heard, whose stories are told, and how these stories are framed within the larger context of privilege and access in the art world. Who gets to create art? Who gets to see it?

Cultural movements, music, and even dreams often fuel my creative process, where a fleeting image or thought ignites a spark that leads to exploration.

Art has the power to transcend and disrupt, and I am deeply inspired by the necessity of art to challenge and question. Living in a world where the censorship of art is still in full force—particularly in my father’s homeland, and even here in the United States—has only deepened my commitment to using my own practice as a form of expression and activism. I believe in the freedom of interpretation, and in the responsibility of art to say something that makes us think, reflect, and act.

Through each piece, I invite the viewer to engage, to ask themselves: What do I see here? What am I willing to interpret? And ultimately, What are we willing to say?

Farah Joan Fard holds a BA in Visual Media Arts from Emerson College.

Select exhibitions.

Series: I am no more a witch than you are a wizard