Ali Tahayori

Ali Tahayori is an Iranian-born Australian artist living and working between Gadigal and Darug lands. Tahayori works across photography, moving image, and installation. His practice sits at the intersection of queer and diasporic subjectivities, exploring notions of home, identity, and belonging from a queer person of SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) perspective. Tahayori often works with reflective material such as mirrors and glass and incorporates the traditional Iranian craft of Āine-kāri (Mirror-works), a craft invented by Iranian artists from imported European material (glass mirror) in the seventeenth century. His practice combines a discourse about diaspora and displacement with an exploration of queerness – in both cases, poignantly testifying to his experience of being othered.

Tahayori holds a Doctorate in Medicine and MFA in Photomedia from National Art School. He has exhibited locally and internationally, most recently in Five Acts of Love, ACCA, Melbourne (2025). He has been a finalist and winner of several local and International art prizes, and is represented by THIS IS NO FANTASY Gallery, Melbourne.