BIO

BIO
Bradford, UK, 1994
Lives and works in London

Lilian Nejatpour is a British-Iranian artist and scholar who shifts between making sculpture, writing and performance. Her research-practice explores the energetics of Kuṇḍalinī from the Kashmiri Śaiva tradition, known as 'Spanda'—the vibration of consciousness practised in non-dual Śaiva metaphysics. Nejatpour often investigates displacement and duality through her unique settings and experiences—with themes relating to tantrism, existentialism and spiritual transfiguration. She is currently writing her PhD: 'Revisioning the female Kuṇḍalinī experience through autoethnography and moving-image', in the department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Nejatpour gained a First Class BA Honours Degree in Fine Art and History of Art from Goldsmiths, University of London (2013-2016). After completing her studies in 2016, Lilian represented Iran as an artist in residence for the cultural exchange between TADAEX (Tehran's Annual Digital Arts Festival) in 2016 and NODE Forum for the Digital Arts (Frankfurt) in 2017. The residency was kindly supported by the Goethe-Institut, TADAEX (Iran), VVVV (Frankfurt) and Ars Electronica (Austria). From 2017-2019, Nejatpour was a studio resident at Somerset House in London, under the mentorship of Turner Prize winner Imran Perretta. In 2019, Nejatpour received a full Oxford PGT Graduate Studentship in the Humanities to pursue her Master's degree in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, under the supervision of Professor Katrina Palmer and Jonathan Miles (Royal College of Art), awarded with Distinction in 2020. She has completed an intensive course in Yoga and Meditation Studies at SOAS (University of London) in partnership with The Hatha Yoga Project (July 2021), and Tantrism at The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies with Professor Gavin Flood (August 2021).

Recent publications include: The Very Best of Internal Migration: HOAX Publication (2022); When You Blossom I Bloom: Sarah Khan x Baesianz, The Royal College of Art (2021); Return: Paadmaan Projects, Tehran (2021); Displacement and Duality: Oxford Student Publications Ltd (2019); GORRSED: Art Licks Issue 22 at Tender Books, London (2018) and Absinthe §2: Elam x Kronos Publishing (2019). Selected exhibitions include: Hoist at Bold Tendencies, Peckham (2020); Lilian's Vow at Photoworks, London (2019) and 4:3 Boiler Room (2019); Choreophobia at Somerset House, London, Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2018) and Chisenhale Studios, London (2018); Choreophobia II at Turner Contemporary, Margate (2018) and Saint (The Empty Pose) at The Photographer's Gallery, London (2017).

International exhibitions and residencies include: Thank you for the outside, see you on the inside at the Van Gogh House, London (2021); Hope Machine at Cairotronica (Cairo Electronic and New Media Arts Festival), Cairo Palace of Arts (2018); A Social Script for Prompt Relief at Cyan Gallery, Oslo (2018); Hope Machine in collaboration with Simon Weckert for Node Forum for the Digital Arts and the Goethe-Institut, at Naxoshalle, Frankfurt (2017) and Dumbphne at TADAEX (Tehran Annual Digital Art Festival), Mohsen Gallery, Tehran (2016).

Lilian is a Somerset House Alumni resident, a member of EAST (Eating At the Same Table Collective), WANAWAL (The West African and North African Women's Art Library) and Collective Ending.