Born 1969 | Tehran, Iran. Selected Collections: Fotomuseum Winterthur; MAK – Museum of Applied Arts Vienna; Museum für Gestaltung Zürich; Essl Collection; Collection of the City of Vienna.

Sissi Farassat is an Austrian-Iranian contemporary artist based in Vienna whose practice spans photography, embroidery, and mixed media. After moving from Tehran to Vienna in 1978, she developed a distinctive artistic language that combines photography with intricate hand-applied embellishments, including sequins, crystals, beads, and embroidery. By transforming photographic surfaces through labor-intensive interventions, Farassat challenges conventional distinctions between photography, craft, ornament, and fine art. Her work explores themes of identity, femininity, memory, cultural heritage, glamour, and visibility while inviting viewers to reconsider the relationship between image and materiality. Farassat’s photographs balance intimacy and spectacle, creating tactile works that reward sustained attention. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is represented in significant public and private collections. Through her unique synthesis of photography and embroidery, she has established a highly recognizable voice within contemporary European art.