By Parisa Karami
In 1948 the unidentified body of a man was found on a beach in Somerton Park, Australia. Despite numerous clues, the case has remained unsolved, and has perplexed investigators for decades.
The artist, Parisa Karami has created a series of paintings that reflected what she sees in the Somerton Man case.
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We interviewed her for this article.
“Parisa, What led you to paint the Somerton man? What inspired you about it?”
“I went through a period of listening to a lot of true crime podcasts and stumbled upon a podcast about Somerton Man.
What struck me the most about him was the Omar Khayyam book that is so central to his tale.
After my father died the only book I received in his belongings was of Omar Khayyam, his death was also a mystery – of accident and suicide.
Although not suicide or murder as Somerton Man the method seemed almost meaningless as the result was so similar.”
“How long have you been doing art?”
“I have been consciously working on painting since 2010.”
“Do you practice in other mediums or is painting your primary one?”
“Painting is my primary medium. “
“What seems to inspire you the most?”
“I am mainly inspired by the people around me in my daily life – such as my neighbors. Also unbelievable stories – which are in reality true. “
“Have you been to school for art? if so, where?”
“Unfortunately I did not go to Art School! I studied Film, Anthropology and Media Studies at San Francisco State University and The New School For Social Research. “
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Parisa Karami was drawn to create the following works of art due to a connection she felt between herself, the Somerton Man, and her late father, because of the Omar Khayyam book her father had given her. It’s amazing how these connections can occur in our lives, and they inspire us to create or remember.
For further study of the Somerton Man, Biographics on Youtube has a great video on the subject. It can be viewed here.
(Bio: Parisa Karami is an artist living in Brooklyn with her family. She has various ongoing projects such as Reyna De La Tierra and Cinema Scenes. Recent works can be seen on media outlets such as Mc Sweeney’s. For more information you can visit her website at https://parisakarami.com/ )
Parisa also has a book for sale entitled “Some Landscapes 2012-2018”. It can be found here or in our Bookstore.