Niki Zarrabi

Niki Zarrabi is a mixed media artist who focuses on the cycles and rebirth of life in her paintings. Whether it be in her murals or oil paintings, she wishes to demonstrate to people how life may come to a time when it ceases, it will enter back into the earth and become reborn again. Using floral, this helps to show how even in death we are beautiful. No matter what stage in life we are in, we are valuable. Here is a snippet from her artist statement:

the idea of reincarnation as represented by flowers, seeing as plants are continually in a state of living and dying. The floral arrangements are illustrated as "melting" to represent a return back to the earth while the flowers represent life itself.

Each of her murals I am showing are based on her femme fatale theme. However, I feel it is important to deliver her meaning of cycles and rebirth. I appreciate the setting for which she has placed this. A white painted brick wall in a garden. How better to demonstrate her theme then in a setting such as this.

A variety of flowers in arrangement placed with the faux gold lining of a buildings background. The building created these precious designs of gold on their gentrified setting. Here Niki created her theme to overflow on top of it to press her theme that we all are beautiful and will cease and be reborn into something beautiful again.

I was unable to find the setting of this mural, however I could see tags and other street art that are placed within the wall. Perhaps Niki was injecting her own mission into a wall with many others. Only but a few flowers, but huge and bold flowers to make a point of her theme. I appreciate the long flowing melt of the flowers, giving a long life to the flowers to something that only last but a second.

A small mural set in a warehouse district, you are able to see the smoke stack in the background. I can smell the grime and smoke in the background at first. However, my eyes are drawn to the floral and the melt. Then my senses begin to adjust and become to smell sweet smells. I begin to think positive. Perhaps this is what Niki meant by placing this here. Bringing life to a dark and dank place. Something for the workers to see, smell, and touch that does not remind them of their surroundings.