Erika Nawabi's artistic self-expression speaks volumes

The opening of the Nasher Museum is still a year away, and the Duke University Museum of Art on East Campus is already closed. For now, Duke students are going to need to venture into Durham and Raleigh for the experience of viewing art in a museum or gallery.

This fall, The Artspace in Raleigh is showcasing the striking work of one local artist, Erika Kyima Nawabi.

Born in San Diego, Calif. and raised in Durham, Nawabi’s art will be on display in an exhibit entitled Shush! The exhibit is a personal look into the 23-year-old’s feelings about “[her] place in the world: socially, at home and at school.”

Nawabi has been involved in art since she was very young. Spending her childhood away from a big city allowed the Eastern Carolina University graduate to concentrate on developing personal tastes and talents in her art, while giving her the experience she needed as part of the strong art community of the Triangle. Nawabi has an undergraduate degree in drawing and painting and is now pursuing a master’s in fine arts at the University of Florida. While she finishes her formal schooling, she is also beginning to showcase her work.

The newer pieces featured in Shush! mark a change in the focus of Nawabi’s work, which previously centered around her family—especially her father’s death in 1996 and its effects on the family. While her familial relationships still have a place in Nawabi’s work, her “mental and physical self images and culture as a Persian” are the prevalent themes in Shush! Thought bubbles are also a common presence in Nawabi’s artwork, representing what she calls her tendency to “obsess” over what she says and thinks, as well as how she is perceived.

Despite changes in subject matter from her earlier work, Nawabi repeats imagery from her earlier endeavors. The stylistic differences between the older and newer parts of the show are subtle, and the artist is excited to see how and if these differences are seen by viewers of Shush! Another noteworthy aspect of her work is the series of creations that she calls “diary pages.” The North Carolinian of Iranian descent plans to produce diary-inspired art for the rest of her life.