Hoda Zarbaf (1982-2020) was an Iranian-Canadian artist, who produced over 50 multimedia sculptures, compositions and installations in the span of her short-yet-significant career. Confronting nostalgia, her work stitches found items that have individual human traces in them: used socks, youtube videos, worn T-shirts, home movies, restock monitors, dated audio, human hair, orphan dolls, and abandoned furniture.

Through her practice, Zarbaf raised the notion of memory, sculpting the absence and citing irretrievable loss. She brought together discarded, forgotten—and seemingly useless—domestic objects, fusing them with newly formed ceramics, lights, sounds, videos, or patchwork elements to deliver a contemporary narrative. The uncanny and absurd characters of her pieces bear witness to the basic human emotions that are derived from lack: fear, vulnerability, desire, pain, and melancholy.

Over the years, these multimedia, whimsical sculptures have traveled internationally to cities like Berlin, Hamburg, New York, and Vancouver; some have been showcased in museums like Toronto’s AGO and Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. They are also reported on by the global press, including BBC, CBC, The Guardian, and Hi-fructose Magazine. In 2019, Hoda Zarbaf was featured in 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow ; however, on November 29th, 2020 she passed away quietly at home nine days after her final solo show, titled Honey, I am home! 

This website is currently under renovation. The curatorial team behind Hoda Zarbaf is committed to continue, celebrate, and advocate for her timeless work/influence. We will update you via her website.