In a corner of Westwood, inside the walls of BasketShop Gallery, an act of remembrance is made permanent in concrete.
Embedded Histories, the new solo exhibition by Iranian-born artist, researcher and University of Cincinnati graduate student Nazanin Najdmofarrah, is on view through July 5. The show invites its audience to consider the emotional residue of personal and political trauma, not through headlines or social media, but through simple objects like children’s shoes, dishware, toys and pieces of fabric — familiar things, buried in likely unfamiliar forms.
Najdmofarrah knows Iran has been in the headlines lately, but she wanted our conversation to focus on her art — in part because of its universality.
“Memories are hidden in objects,” Najdmofarrah said. “They contain forgotten histories that my work seeks to uncover and make visible.”
The pieces themselves — concrete blocks embedded with these items — are subtle yet symbolic. Their visual simplicity stems from a layered backstory: the censorship Najdmofarrah faced as an artist in Iran, the lived experience of inequality in its education system and the lasting emotional weight of growing up around unrest. She came to the United States in 2023 to continue her education in a freer environment — one that would allow her to grow both creatively and academically.
“There were many reasons behind my decision to leave,” she said. “As an artist and university lecturer, I faced increasing restrictions. Several of my exhibitions were canceled, or my works weren’t allowed to be shown because of their social and political themes. It became exhausting.”
In Iran, because her senior thesis explored sensitive social issues, she was barred from continuing directly to graduate school and forced to re-enter the highly competitive national exam process. That experience, she said, was disheartening – and ultimately added to the barriers she faced as a woman and artist.
Shortly after arriving in the U.S., protests erupted across Iran. While Najdmofarrah’s departure was not directly connected to the uprising, she said the timing had a lasting emotional impact on her and deepened the social justice lens of her work.
“My goal was for [audience members] to see their lives,” she told CityBeat. “This might happen to any people in the world. It’s not just my country; it’s about all countries.”
A practice of unsettling
The show draws from a concept that Najdmofarrah calls defamiliarization, a technique coined by Russian theorist Viktor Shklovsky where familiar things are rendered strange to deepen perception and understanding.
Objects that might otherwise signify comfort and routine are sealed in concrete, suspended in stillness. The result is reminiscent of loss, displacement and the weight of what remains.
Najdmofarrah’s work has generated a lot of interest. Earlier this year, Najdmofarrah’s exhibit was featured at the Contemporary Arts Center. Najdmofarrah’s work has shifted from painting to installation during her time in Cincinnati – something she describes as both a stylistic and personal transformation.
“I’m not allowed to work on these [types of] things in Iran,” she said. “I experienced my exhibitions being shut down and my works being taken … or I was banned from continuing education in Iran … I don’t have these [concerns] here, and it’s helped me to grow in art.”
This fall, she’ll begin her Ph.D. in Art Administration, Education and Policy at the Ohio State University in Columbus. Her academic focus is grounded in the same ideas she explores in her art: how socially engaged creative practices can serve as universal tools for healing, empathy and resistance.
A curator’s perspective
For Eli Walker, co-founder of BasketShop Gallery and an instructor at UC, the work stands out for both its conceptual clarity and restraint.
“Nazanin’s got some very specific work,” Walker said. “Everything is inherently political, but not overtly … which I feel is flat most of the time. She’s a strong artist … she was able to tie everything together.”
Walker and his partner, Kelly Kroener, have been curating shows at BasketShop for about a decade. He emphasized that the decision to exhibit Najdmofarrah’s work predated recent events in the Middle East that have renewed international focus on Iran.
“We put it together three days before the bombing in Tehran,” he told CityBeat. “These things have been going on for a long time … It’s not a moment that you capitalize on.”
Embedded Histories doesn’t shout. It asks. It waits. It allows room. It creates space for grief, reflection and recognition.
“It’s a kind of healing process,” Najdmofarrah said. “I want to study social justice in education … but also continue making art about it.”
Embedded Histories is on view at BasketShop Gallery through July 5. More info: basketshopgallery.com and instagram.com/basketshop.gallery.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s June 25 print edition.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 8, 2025.
