I Create To Live
“I started making street art pieces about a decade ago. It was exciting and risky; it made the idealist teenager that I was feel like I’m somehow bringing awareness to my society. Stencil pieces, Stickers and posters were my medium of choice since they were made to convey messages and protest what was going on around me, socially and politically. It also was a way to connect with like-minded people and fellow artists. After leaving the country to study art academically; I revisited stencil art again, But this time for a different and rather unconventional cause.”
Born in 1988, “Nightwatcher” was a great fan of books growing up. He read everything he could get his hands on from natural history to religious texts and even his father’s medical textbooks. After finishing elementary school, he was accepted in a school under the ‘National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents’ with high hopes and promises. They soon began to fade as he found himself against conformist policies both ideologically and educationally, spiced up with worse things a young boy would never dream of encountering in school. This lead to the many dark and troublesome years ahead, at the same time preparing the foundation of what later became his art practice.
He began experimenting with digital photo manipulation as a therapeutic endeavor during his teenage years, focusing on the horror and macabre genres. In 2007, The Nightwatcher began doing street art in the form of stencils and stickers, with artwork that was reflective of the highly charged socio-political climate he was exposed to in Tehran. He headed to Malaysia in 2010 to study Graphic Design, under the auspices of the Nottingham Trent University. In those years he had the chance to work with well-know brands such as Ralph Lauren, Tim Burton and Bratpack, and to find a demand for his art in the fashion and entertainment industries.
Since then The Nightwatcher has had several formal exhibitions in Malaysia and Australia, three numerous works in different media as well as two collections ‘Memento’, ‘Found in Static!’. After returning to his home country, he began working in design and advertising, intrigued by the limits and challenges that the industry faces in Iran. Maintaining his connection to the Advertising industry, he joined IGREG Art Studio as the internal manager, helping curate and execute four successful exhibitions for emerging Iranian artists who seek a platform to show their unconventional, controversial or sometimes outright banned artworks. He has also entered competitions and won a few awards along the way. He also is currently working on several new collections.
— Omar Khayyam —
Some Recent Projects
My art has somehow always been about the struggle of the individual and the social construction. The approach varied throughout the years, so did the techniques, material and disciplines, yet the core concern has remained the same through more than a decade of artistic practice. Arthur Schopenhauer says that: “We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.” and I believe the best way to define my work is ‘An attempt to reclaim, review and represent the lost portion of the collective self.’
Part Of SMALL! Group Exhibition At Fortyfivedwonstairs
Submission to Group Exhibition at Ehsan International Gallery
Submission to Group Exhibition At Ayrik Gallery
Part Of Group Exhibition At Yasamin Art Gallery
Video Art Installed And Displayed As a Part of the Found In Static Exhibition
Solo ExhibitionIn Sohrab Art Gallery
“Back in my childhood, TV had only three channels, broadcas ng un l 11-something p.m. Being a night owl, I was used to seeing the TV sta on showing sta c a er the program was over. I remember occasionally refraining from turning it o and trying to nd forms, gures and other things I could not put a name on at the me. Decades later, I found out about abstract art…”
Part Of Group Exhibition at One Utama
Part of group exhibition titled SITI: An Iconic Exhibition at Artelier Gallery Kualalumpur
Part Of and Finalist for Australian Stencil Prize.
Part Of Duo Exhibition At White Canvas Gallery
The collection sparked with a deeply personal matter for the artist: the struggle to retain, cherish and make sense of an infatuation after he left his home country and his person of interest. The first work that set off this collection was quite unique in that it was painted over and redone eight times until the artist felt it has become close to his mental image. At the first glance the works in the collection seem to be a series of (albeit unusual) portraits. But looking at a more in depth level of context, He tried to capture the essence of each model%u2019s personality with subtle hints, mainly reflected the by objects in the image, the color scheme and the model%u2019s expressions.
The Different Things I Make
Art that involves multiple artforms and is displayed outside traditional exhibition venues is evolving all the time. Multidisciplinary art encompasses professional artistic activities that combine different artforms in new and unusual ways. In this way multidisciplinary art is often experimental, seeking new forms of expression and existing between established artforms.
Research
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Graphic Design
Download my graphic design portfolio and CV.
Traditional Media
Paintings, silk screen prints and other forms of print making along with drawings.
New Media
Digital art, photography, video, installation and everything in between.
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