Artist Name: Shirin Gunny
Residency Dates: September – November 2022
Hometown: Moka – Mauritius Island – Indian Ocean
Lives & Works: Moka – Mauritius Island – Indian Ocean
URL: Instagram: @shiringunny
Education:
1994 – 1996 | D.E.S.S. en gestion, Management & Communication, HEC Montréal
1992-1994 | Bachelor of Science (Bsc), Sociology and Anthropology, Université de Montréal
Bio/Statement:
Nature is as delicate and ephemeral as Shirin’s art. Her purpose is to use ephemeral art to awaken the people’s conscience on the fragility of our natural ecosystems. Indeed, Shirin’s art is only visible for a few hours, and this ephemeral reality further enhances her purpose.
Self-taught visual artist Shirin Gunny combines organic materials like blooms, fruits, seeds, bark, pistils, petals, green or decomposing leaves to tell stories about her island. Passionate about the notion of transformation, her work gives a contemporary edge to materials that usually qualify as being rather conventional and, if not, often overlooked. Focusing on the life cycle of precious and fragile ecosystems from the birth of the leaf to its decomposition on the ground, Shirin’s “treasure hunt” transforms natural material into art installations. Her ephemeral art is an invitation to discover what her island has been able to protect and how its people should value the importance of this unique flora heritage.
Shirin has shown her work at the Granary House during the PORLWI Festival (2017). Recently in 2022 she was awarded the Special Prize in the Artist in Residence section of 16th Arte Laguna Venice International Contemporary Art Award. Her work was published in MOTS KOULERS by Shakti Callikan (2020) and STORIES magazine. Her work was also featured on The Jealous Curator.
