During the group exhibition hosted by Simine Paris from 25 to 28 September 2025 at 24 Rue de Penthièvre, 75008 Paris, we had the pleasure of speaking with the Franco-Iranian multidisciplinary artist Bibi Setareh Manavi.
The exhibition brought together Mehrdad Naraghi, Nastaran Safaei, and Bibi Manavi, three artists who embody a generation rooted in Iranian cultural heritage while fully engaged with global contemporary expression.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Manavi reimagines the Iranian mirror-mosaic craft Aineh-Kari, replacing traditional geometric tessellations with biomorphic patterns derived from the cellular structures of endangered plants. Her mirrored sculptural panels intertwine ecological disappearance with personal reflection.
The exhibition also featured works from her Memory of Plane Trees (2024) series—sculptural meditations on urban plane trees as vessels of shifting collective memory.
This interview was produced by Kasra Aliha, with cinematography directed by Behnood Massoumi, in Paris.
A heartfelt thank-you to Leila Varasteh for her invaluable support.