Ghazal Majidi

Interdisciplinary Arts master's student in the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology

Ghazal Majidi is a filmmaker, new media artist, and animator from Tehran, currently based in Vancouver. She uses 3D animation, generative visuals, and live action to create time-based and interactive visual experiences. In her recent projects, she explores AR and VR as intermediary sites to playfully deconstruct the trends of storytelling in the machine era and experiment with fantastical settings. Questions around identity, memory, reality, and simulations are recurrent subject matters in her work. Following an academic background in Architecture, she creatively explores the virtual and physical dynamic between space and story as a reciprocating relationship. Her films and installations have been presented in film festivals and galleries in the United States, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Japan, Spain, Slovakia, Iran, and more including Vienna Shorts, Brussels Independent Film Festival, and Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin. Ghazal is currently pursuing her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Simon Fraser University.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?

I chose to pursue the Interdisciplinary Arts MFA at SFU primarily because of its progressive collaborative nature. The opportunity to learn from and collaborate with artists and faculty members across different disciplines and give space to communal emergence in artistic production is certainly an asset. Being in an interdisciplinary environment helps me to push the boundaries of my own work by getting exposed to different artistic worlds and frameworks.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?

In my current project and research, I am working with virtual and augmented reality to reflect on some personal and existential subject matters of mine. For instance, in the multi-level interactive VR experience, I reflect on my personal experiences with ADHA. The participants engage in a game wherein they can choose to ignore or indulge in the visual and sonic distractions around them, each choice leading to a unique new level.

WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?

There are a lot of benefits to studying at the School of Contemporary Arts at SFU. Our campus is located in downtown Vancouver, providing us with great accessibility to the events and attractions of the city. The school staff and faculty are very supportive, and there are multiple facilities on site. There is also a respectful artistic freedom that I think is vital for the authenticity of any artist's work.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF ANY MAJOR OR DONOR-FUNDED AWARDS? IF SO, PLEASE TELL US WHICH ONES AND A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THE AWARDS HAVE IMPACTED YOUR STUDIES AND/OR RESEARCH.

I have been the recipient of the Graduate Fellowship award and the TARA Research and Travel award so far. These awards have certainly made life easier and have provided me with a little more financial freedom to acquire some of the required devices for my work.

Contact Ghazal Majidi: ghazal_majidi@sfu.ca