Neda Saeedi Explores Architecture, Ruins, and Material Narratives in Innsbruck Exhibition

Berlin-based Iranian artist Neda Saeedi presents her exhibition 'in fire yet we trust' at Taxispalais Kunsthalle Tirol in Innsbruck, Austria, featuring sculptures made from glass, plants, windows, and debris. In an interview with Canvas, Saeedi discusses her fascination with architecture's relationship to the body, noting how architectural structures carry social, political, and historical meanings while shaping daily movements and experiences. She explores temporary ruins as sites where demolition reveals hidden layers, creating a duality between violence and the potential for reemergence. Site specificity and material choice are central to her practice, with materials like glass carrying connotations of fragility, unpredictability, and resilience, which she uses to reflect on social and historical dynamics. Saeedi's work is influenced by her upbringing in Tehran, where she witnessed rapid sociopolitical changes, and her adult life in Berlin, where history is visibly displayed and sometimes obscured. Her exhibition includes a garden installation with a steel-and-glass tree, herbarium displays, and snow globes containing elements from video games, examining gardens as acts of control and segregation. She describes herself as a storyteller using materials, forms, and spatial arrangements to create open experiences for viewers, without dictating interpretation. The interview originally appeared in Canvas 115: On the Wild Side.