Sara Nejad is a multidisciplinary artist and art teacher based in Brisbane. She works with various mediums, including painting, pyrography, installation, and mixed media. Her residency focuses on showcasing the beauty of individual experiences and the significance of togetherness through captivating mandalas.
We had the opportunity to speak with Sara to learn more about her residency project and artistic practice.
Mandalas are such a central part of your art—can you share the meaning behind the title of your project at Museum of Brisbane, Sacred Circles?
The title Sacred Circles speaks to the universal symbolism of the circle across spiritual, natural, and cultural systems. In my practice, the mandala is not just a visual motif but a structure of meaning—a map that connects identity, memory, ritual, and healing. Mandala signifies unity, wholeness, and the infinite cycle of birth, growth, decay, death and renewal.
While my practice is rooted in the concept of mandalas, Sacred Circles does not imply that all works are literal circles. Rather, the idea of circularity unfolds through the repetition of motifs, the rhythm of patterns, and the flow of forms. In this way, I explore how visual repetition and structure can carry the same symbolic weight as the perfect circle, evoking a deeper sense of connectedness.
What is the process for creating your work?
My process is a combination of intuition and research. It begins with personal reflection—on memory, migration, connection to nature, and spiritual symbolism. I collect visual inspiration from native botanical and fauna elements, architectural details, sacred geometry, and historical manuscripts. Many of my mandala forms are influenced by motifs found in Queensland nature as well as Persian art and architecture. I develop these forms through drawing, collage, and digital tools, layering shapes and symbols to create complex compositions. I also experiment with sculptural materials to bring the mandalas into physical space. Overall, I work with both natural and geometric rhythms, creating each mandala as a vessel for storytelling.
Your works reflect different aspects of your identity. Can you tell us more?
My identity is woven from many circles—Persian heritage, the Australian landscape and environment I call home, motherhood, migration, and spirituality, all shaped by moments of loss, joy, pain, and transformation. My work is informed by mandalas found in sacred traditions, as well as by the rich textures of Australian flora, community narratives, and the imaginative space that creating art offers. I see the mandala as a wholistic vessel that holds these layered identities.
You created a series of beautiful patterns for Museum of Brisbane’s entrance—can you tell us more about this work? How did you adapt your practice to be site-specific to the Museum?
The entrance designs, mounted on the Museum’s windows, allow light to filter through, reminiscing stained-glass art found in most holy places such as churches. The motifs are mainly drawn from Queensland’s native flora and fauna, and I have reimagined and restructured them through the lens of Persian aesthetics— such as those found in Persian mosaic patterns. As people walk by, they interact with the shifting colours and forms. From afar, the designs appear geometric and abstract, but up close, intricate details reveal themselves—motifs that speak to memory. The work invites a playful exchange between abstraction and meaning, between life’s fragments and the search for wholeness.
What is the next step for your project?
The next phase of Sacred Circles focuses on community engagement through a series of workshops. These sessions will invite participants to reflect on their personal stories, and their sense of belonging to Brisbane. Through guided activities and simple mandala-making exercises, we will explore how visual practices can offer connection between personal and collective experiences. I’ll be collecting personal narratives, images, and symbolic expressions shared by the community, which will then inform a new series of works. These will be installed along the museum hallway—continuing the evolving story of Sacred Circles and weaving together the voices of participants with my own as an artist moved by their journeys.
Discover more about Sara Nejad’s residency
MoB’s Artist in Residence program is supported by Tim Fairfax AC.
This residency has been produced by Museum of Brisbane as part of Brisbane City Council’s BrisAsia Festival 2025, produced by Sounds Across Oceans.
