Paper Vase Collage

Jamaleddin Toomajnia was born in 1981 in Gonbade Kavous, Iran—one of the three cities that make up the region known as Turkmen Sahra. His name, "Toomaj," comes from a Turkmen tribe, reflecting his cultural heritage. As a Turkmen living in Iran, his life and art are deeply inspired by the experiences of his community. The Turkmen people, who are Sunni Muslims, have preserved their own unique traditions, clothing, and symbolic carpet patterns and embroideries. A century ago, they lived a nomadic lifestyle in portable dwellings known as Oy. Today, most reside in Turkmenistan and in the Iranian cities of Gonbade Kavous and Bandar Torkaman. Toomajnia's work explores the tensions between tradition and modernity that define contemporary Turkmen identity in Iran. Through his paintings, he reflects on the paradoxes of his culture—at once rich and restrictive—and seeks to express a personal journey of navigating these complexities. His art is an attempt to both confront and escape the limitations of inherited traditions, offering a deeply personal and symbolic perspective shaped by a complex society.