Parisa Parnian
From Left to Right:
1. It's Complicated
2. Split Mirrors of Desire
2018
Digital Collages on Canvas
40” x 30" each
Photo Credit: Chani Bockwinkel
Parisa is a designer, visual artist, community builder and performance artist based out of Los Angeles. Over the past 20 years, Parisa has been exploring themes around the intersectionality of marginalized desires- in particular focused on where sexuality, gender, religion, cultural heritage and the immigrant experience come together.
Her “Dirty Phoenix and the Asses of Evil” one woman show in New York City was a platform she created to highlight the post-911 experience of being a queer femme Iranian Muslim-raised woman who felt hostility and suspicion from both the America she lived in and the Iranian community she came from. As a designer, Parisa launched a gender-queer fashion label, called RIGGED OUT/FITTERS, in 2005 and was a pioneer in the queer fashion scene. In addition, she created ground-breaking curriculum for the California College of Arts, when in 2009 she created and taught the interdisciplinary course “Alternative Bodies” for the Diversity Studies department.
Today, Parisa is focused on creating visual art, illustrations, and community events (such as Persian Pop-Up dinners for the queer/trans community). Her umbrella brand and vision is called SAVAGE MUSE.
Asses of Evil
2002
Khaki Shirt with Photo Transfer and Ink
Photo Credit: Chani Bockwinkel
Dirty Phoenix
2001
Vizier with Spray-Paint
Photo Credit: Chani Bockwinkel