Mehrdad Mirzaie is an Iranian interdisciplinary artist, assistant curator, and educator currently based in Phoenix, Arizona. His practice centers on the mental image, the politics of seeing, the politics of memory, and historical images, particularly in regions marked by censorship, state violence, and historical erasure. Working primarily with photography, archives, and alternative image-making processes, he explores how visual histories are preserved, reinterpreted, or lost, emphasizing the dialogue between bygone eras and contemporary contexts.
Mirzaie’s research extends into the history and philosophy of photography, where he examines the role of images as conduits for historical narratives and storytelling. He currently serves as Assistant Curator and Collection Assistant at Northlight Gallery, where he continues to expand his curatorial and research experience. He received his MFA in Photography from Arizona State University in 2025 and is currently pursuing an MA in Art History at ASU, with a focus on image-based art in Iran and within a broader global context.
He is also the founder of the Tasvir Archive Project (established in December 2022), a research initiative dedicated to the history of Iranian image-based art and the studying of photographic practices in Iran.