Yosra Mojtahedi (b. 1986) is a Teheran-born artist based in France who explores various fields at the intersection of art, science, and technology with her work prompted by Iranian censorship. Coming from a country where the body is taboo, Mojtahedi’s art reacts with sensuality, tactility, olfaction, and even eroticism and feminity at times. Steeped in a surrealist, obscurantist atmosphere – “a space free of places and times” – her work’s objects and elements all become deeply symbolic.
A Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains graduate, she studies the human being in all its dimensions—physical, cultural, social, religious, and psychological—and its relationship with nature. Through sculptural and interactive installations, drawings, and photographs, she creates organic, sensual, and mystical landscapes. With a focus particularly on soft robotics – deformable robots and a perspective rooted in anthropology and through her research on nature and the place of the human body (especially the female body) in society, she questions the border between the living and the non-living. Through sculptures conceived as “human-machines” and “fountain-bodies”.
“I sculpt the shadow that emerges from the light”, she says, often drawing inspiration from the duality of both found in Persian architecture, which leads from darkness to illumination – a metaphor for a spiritual trajectory to create a space out of time. As such, the colour black plays a fundamental role in her work. To her, black represents the absolute, both nothingness and everything at once, an entity that unites us. Yosra explores the human condition by blurring the usual boundaries of representation, introducing an ambivalent vegetal presence. The tension between shadow and light reveals the fragile border between existence and non-existence, leading the viewer on a spiritual journey beyond time.
For instance, the Volcanahita installation (2024) emerges as a contemplative ritual of melding feminist archaeology with the reinterpretation of ancient civilisations. Forged from recycled machinery, organic pipes, and pumps, the sculpture was born of the encounter between art and technology, marked by the imprint of time and transformation. This poetic rebirth embodies layers of feminine thought, questioning our bond with the material world and encouraging reflection on life’s fragile balance, where mist and fluid weave an enigmatic dance.
Inspired by volcanic fire and the myth of Anahita, the goddess of pristine waters, Volcanahita emerges in a black basin where industrial oil transforms into a life-giving force, rising and falling in a sacred rhythm. Surrounded by black pozzolan, the liquid basin enhances the sensory experience as flowing water whispers in meditative harmony. Here, nature and industry, the primal and the technological, converge. Black oil – once mere fuel – now nourishes an eternal cycle of transformation, suspended in visual poetry beyond time. Composed of recycled machines, organic pipes, and pumps, Volcanahita traverses a post-apocalyptic realm, embodying both destruction and rebirth – like a phoenix rising anew. Timeless guardians and volcanoes release cleansing fire and restorative waters.
Among her fascinating and thought-provoking works is Lilith (2023), a kinetic sound installation/sculpture produced as part of the PRIX WICAR residency. And Sexus Fleurus (2021) – an androgynous, organic sculpture that responds to touch, blurs the line between human and non-human through interaction. Inspired by human organs, this hybrid artwork blends art, science, and soft robotics while questioning bodily identity, disconnection from nature, and the fusion of technology with life. Symbolising the transformation of desire and redefining human touch, it challenges perceptions of identity, sensuality, and the evolving relationship between humans and machines. Exploring transhumanism, Sexus Fleurus prompts deep questions: Will organic robots extend our bodies? How will they reshape intimacy, identity, and the future of human-machine interaction?
By challenging our perception of corporeality, Mojtahedi urges us to reconsider the inert forms around us. Where does life end and intimacy begin? What separates reality from illusion, one gender from another? Her work embodies bold, limitless feminism, making a powerful political statement. In her worlds, plants, animals, minerals, and gender-fluid bodies intertwine, dissolving boundaries and uniting all existence in a single truth: “In the end, we are one”.
In 2020, Yosra Mojtahedi was awarded the “Révélation Art Numérique et Art Vidéo” Prize by ADAGP for her work L’Érosarbénus, and in 2024, she received the “Talents Contemporains” Prize from the François Schneider Foundation. Her works have been exhibited internationally, notably in Iran, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and Turkey, among others.
“Artist in Focus” is a column that shines a light on individual artists by showcasing their portfolios and artworks, exploring their inspirations and personal journeys. As our team travels to various art fairs, festivals, art weeks, and biennales, we uncover emerging talents and share their stories, giving our readers an authentic glimpse into the artists who are shaping the contemporary art world today.
