Molly Burke / ByProduct Studios, July 2025
What subjects or ideas run through your career? What about your personal narrative connects you to your current materials and body of work?
I feel like the subject matter that surfaces frequently relates to being parents and also being consumers. I think there are lots of different subjects that we touch on, but primarily exploring contemporary culture, specifically as it relates to being parents and the material condition of being parents, the dialog of consumerism and the value of the object.
Monika Meler, May 2025
Can you tell us about the history of your personal exposure to art? How did you first become interested? Did any artists or works inspire you to pursue becoming an artist?
As an immigrant from Poland to Chicago, my family and I worked in labor-intensive jobs, like many other immigrants. The first time I made a lithograph; the process was not unlike degreasing the floor of the service area at the Saturn car dealership my parents and I cleaned to pay for school. Machinery, chemicals, and process-intensive work were familiar. When cleaning sinks at Saturn, I often made drawings using my finger in the cleaning solution. Printmaking recalled these vivid experiences.
Sepideh T. Dashti, May 2025
What subjects or ideas run through your current work? What about your personal narrative connects you to your current materials and body of work?
In my artistic practice, I explore the limitations imposed on the female body and examine themes of empowerment and resilience as a means of dismantling patriarchal structures. I’m especially interested in the tension between public and private spaces, and I use this duality to investigate and express these ideas.
I approach my work through an intersectional feminist lens, often using familiar materials such as household objects or female hair. I employ a direct yet layered artistic strategy that invites audiences to connect with the subject matter on a personal level, while also encouraging deeper reflection and critical questioning of the social and cultural structures that underlie these familiar forms.
