Shamiran Istifan’s works emerge from fragments of memory and the present. Drawing on personal experiences, she works with images and visual codes, which she condenses into new constellations. Her installations, sculptures and textile works shift the focus to social and structural contexts. The artist often uses imagery from everyday life or references from pop culture and social media, which she transforms into new meanings, some with sacred connotations.

Born in Baden, she grew up in a diasporic reality shaped by a minority perspective. In her new works, Aargau becomes a resonant space: objects such as paving stones or letterboxes – as a transition between private and public space – encounter the aesthetics of the cosmetics industry and motifs from teenage culture. The result is a multi-layered constellation of images, materials and symbols in which different worlds coexist in parallel.

Shamiran Istifan (b.1987) is the recipient of the Manor Art Prize Aarau 2026, which is awarded every two years to promote young Swiss art.