BIO - Lilian Nejatpour

BIO
Bradford, UK, 1994
Currently based in London

Lilian Nejatpour (b. 1994) is a British-Iranian artist and scholar-mystic whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, tantric philosophy, performance, and musical composition. Lilian combines her Kuṇḍalinī Yoga practice with non-dual Śaiva philosophy, touching on themes of existentialism, rapture, and the subtle body.

Nejatpour is currently writing her doctoral thesis on Kuṇḍalinī and the feminine in the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research explores the spontaneous Kuṇḍalinī awakening and the overlooked feminine narratives within tantric history and philosophy.

Nejatpour was awarded 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, 2016) and NODE (Forum for the Digital Arts in Frankfurt, 2017), supported by the Goethe-Institut, TADAEX (Iran), VVVV (Frankfurt) and Ars Electronica (Austria).

From 2017-2019, Nejatpour was a studio resident at Somerset House under the mentorship of Turner Prize winner Imran Perretta. In 2019, Nejatpour was the recipient of a Humanities Studentship from Oxford University and completed her Master’s Degree in Fine Art at St Cross College, awarded with Distinction from the Ruskin School of Art in 2020.

Lilian is a qualified Level 2 Reiki Practitioner (2025) and has completed intensive courses in Yoga and Meditation at SOAS (University of London) and Tantrism at The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies under Professor Gavin Flood.

Recent publications include: Lilian Nejatpour: Aesthetica Magazine, Issue 121 'Intersections' (2024); 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: Mother Earth Went for a Walk and Choreophobia at Bayt Al Mamzar, Dubai, UAE (2024); 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 and Chisenhale Studios, London (2018); Choreophobia II at Turner Contemporary, Margate (2018); Hope Machine at Cairo Opera House, Cairo (2018); Saint (The Empty Pose) at The Photographer's Gallery, London (2017); Hope Machine at Node Festival, Frankfurt (2017); and Dumbphne at Mohsen Gallery, Tehran, Iran (2016).