Age: 32
Occupation: Interdisciplinary artist and founder, LYT Studio
Multidisciplinary artist Lili Yas Tayefi finds inspiration in blending the old with the new to convey deeper truths. Her sculpture, Elemental Alchemy, currently exhibited at Calgary skyscraper Fifth Avenue Place, combines upcycled paper clay with 3D printing to reflect the “rebirth of life cycles.”
“Working with clay has taught me that I can spend a month building a sculpture, and it might not make it through the kiln,” she says.
Tayefi is the sole proprietor of LYT Studio, which uses robotics to create custom ceramics. Originally from Tehran, she received a BFA from the University of Calgary and holds a master’s in advanced architecture from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona. In 2021, she co-ordinated the team behind Spain’s first 3D-printed building.
This forward-thinking approach permeates her education and her community work. Tayefi co-founded A Little Happiness Foundation, a non-profit that provides support to Sikligar families in India, while, locally, she facilitates accessible clay sculpting and 3D printing workshops at a sliding-scale rate. Tayefi is also an instructor at the Alberta University of the Arts and at the University of Calgary’s architecture school, where she teaches the next generation of artists to question the societal systems they belong to and explore the intersection of art and technology.
Whether through outreach, teaching or public sculptures like Elemental Alchemy, Tayefi’s “feel first” outlook aims to democratize our relationship with tradition and technology to foster creativity in everyone, regardless of background. “I get to bring people back to daydreaming, childlike innocence, and that inspiration to play and just create,” says Tayefi. “Anywhere in the world, human beings need some kind of outlet.”
Thank yous
“My family, for always acting as one unit.”
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