Batool Showghi was born in Iran and moved to England in 1985. She received a merit for her MA in Design & Media Arts from the University of Westminster in 1997 just after finishing her BA honours from the London Guildhall University. In 2001 she received a Certificate of Education from the University of Westminster. While continuing her art practice, she taught at Harrow College from 1998 until 2015 as a part-time lecturer. Since then she has dedicated her time to her art and exhibiting her work in both solo and group exhibitions in England and abroad.
Showghi is a multidisciplinary artist who has a passion for artists’ books. Her work moves between photography, illustration, painting and textiles evolving from single images to books, images in boxes, installations and mixed media work.
Showghi’s artwork is concerned with her cultural heritage, memory, identity and loss. She wants to examine the physical limits that women can experience with regard to cultural and religious boundaries.
She frequently returns to Iran to draw inspiration and source of new material. Her vocabulary is diverse and she transforms documents, calligraphy, portraits, patterns and everyday objects into beautiful and densely layered pieces. She works with photographs, digital manipulation, fabric, stitching, paint and paper to produce her unique and individual images and pieces in a process that has become a ritualised activity.
Showghi’s work has been exhibited since 1988 here and abroad. She has shown in London at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, The Mall Galleries, the Phoenix Art Gallery in Brighton, Harrow Open Studios, The Asia House Fair, London Art Book Fairs and at the Stock By Nayland Festival. She has also exhibited in museums, galleries and universities and most recently in Tehran at the Golestan Palace Museum and at the International Contemporary Art Fair Artrooms at The Melia White House Hotel.
Showghi’s work can be found in public and private collections, e.g. Tate Britain, The British Library, The Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth (five books for the ‘New Found Treasures’ exhibition), the Museum of Art and Literature, Yerevan, Armenia, Middlesex University, Thames Valley and Canterbury University, the Aaran Gallery in Tehran, and in many private collections.
Self-taught or art school?
I have a BA (hon) and an MA in Art & Design.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
An antique Persian carpet as I will never get tired of looking at it.
How would you describe your style?
My style of work is very contemporary and innovative I like to express myself not only with the idea but also with the use of materials. My practice is influenced by my Iranian culture and heritage.
Is narrative important within your work?
Yes, it is very important. I make Artist’s books as well as mixed media pieces and I always have a story to tell.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
A range of artists and genre has influenced me. Starting from medieval Icon painters, to most recent modern and post-modern artists. Also due to my heritage, I am affected by Persian art and culture. Art has no boundaries. My style of photography and printmaking technically was nourished by the avant-gardes at Bauhaus or Surrealists. Western and Eastern art has had a big influence on Iranian and Middle East artists. I admire a big range of international artists such as Parastou Forouhar, El Anatsui, Rosemarie Trockel, Niki de Saint Phalle, Christian Boltanski and many others.
I think the practice of art is part of life and an important way of expression. What happens around us affects what we make.
What or who inspires your art?
My artwork is concerned with my cultural heritage, memory, identity and loss. In recent works, I am more concerned with the social, economic and political situation which affects more people in the Middle East resulting in disintegration of the family and the experience of displacement.
I have made a series of Artist’s books as well as textile and mixed media artwork based on displacement and Immigrants.
I use Iranian birth certificates, passports, photographs, mixed media, thread and stitching on archival papers to create my unique books.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is in the garden and I don’t have to travel far. It is my sanctuary: I love the smell of it and the silence. I can see the garden from my window and hear the birds.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I love to listen to BBC radio 3 when working.
What are you working on currently?
During the lockdown, I have been working on a few projects. Some are expanding. Also designed two different scarves using my Immigrants projects.
The Art of Loving, April 2020
It’s a textile piece with Farsi inscription. After months in isolation, I have a deeper love for my fellow humans. This is a wish for all of us to come together again and celebrate our differences.
Textiles on Canvas. Machine and hand-stitched with beads and Farsi inscriptions, approximately 97 x 97 cm
Captured in a Box, installation, May 2020
So far, I’ve made 36 metal boxes. We’ve been isolated in a room or our houses separated from each other, which feels being captured in a box! Textiles on paper with stitching, painting and Farsi inscriptions. Installation, work in progress.
Where can we buy your art?
Currently, I am in a group show at the Jagged Art Gallery in London. One of my artist’s books is on display at the British Library along with a few other women contemporary artists. My work can be bought through a gallery. I take part in a few Art Book Fairs where I sell my books. Open Studios during summer. I advertise on Instagram and my website where people can get in touch and buy the work.
What are your ambitions?
My ambition is to be able to continue to produce artworks which connect me to likeminded people as well as finding new ways to promote my art.