IRIS SHAHAN

March 2025 Resident

This project started roughly around 2023, when my fiancee and I decided to move from Tennessee to Chicago. At the time, I was recovering from a situation that led me to have a psychological crisis. Thankfully I was diagnosed and properly medicated, but was still dealing with the emotional burnout from everything. Leading me to collage, and I began a daily practice of creating. While preparing to move we had to sift and sort through all of our belongings, carefully deciding what to drag across the country. During this I discovered some forgotten Polaroids, most of which I wanted to throw away. Images of fallen friendships, outdated versions of myself or past events I didn’t want to carry anymore. Still I couldn't throw them away. Polaroids in a way are proof of life, it is a tangible memory, good or bad. Plus how tactile a Polaroid is, makes it the perfect substrate. It allowed me to create something new. Eventually I ran out of old memories and shifted into taking obscure images to collage on. This permits me to create and quickly reflect on the moment. With the residency I have decided to assemble my collages and photos into a 6x6 sketch book. I want this book to be an exploration of memory, and to experiment with the idea that Polaroids act like a vessel.

Iris Shahan is a Chicago based collage artist, originally from Knoxville, TN.

More About Iris

Follow Along on Instagram:

@MineralHouseMedia

Mineral House Media’s digital residency program is a series of online “takeovers,” wherein each selected artist is given full control of the Mineral House Media Instagram feed for 2 weeks. Residents complete an interview to be published at the close of their designated month. The residency also includes a group exhibition at the end of the year. It is a great way to experiment, showcase your practice in a new way, and develop a new following. If you wish to be considered for our 2024 residency year, Apply Here!