Iranian-American artist Morehshin Allahyari is developing a series of 3D printed statues inspired by forgotten female deities from the Middle East.

Currently working from the Eyebeam artist residency program in Brooklyn, New York, Iranian-American media artist Morehshin Allahyari is putting together an otherworldly and graceful exhibition of 3D printed Middle Eastern goddesses.

Unlike Athena and Aphrodite, the female deities being resurrected here — known as jinns — are much less recognized and illustrated in Western history. Using 3D scanning and 3D printing, Allahyari uses these mythicized Middle Eastern goddesses to help vanquish the disparity between the East and West; as well as between man and woman.

Addressing Contemporary Issues With Ancient Symbols

Allahyari aims to 3D print about a dozen female jiins, each of which will be accompanied with their own unique talismans. These particular goddesses defy the boundaries of traditional gender with their powerful strength and monstrous nature, stripping away the stereotype that all female deities should be motherly and kind.

Allahyari currently has her first 3D printed sculpture from the series on display at her solo exhibition in the TRANSFER gallery, called She Who Sees the Unknown. The 3D printed sculpture represents the three-headed demon known as Huma, a powerful deity known for possessing humans and causing fevers. Propped up in a room of darkness, the black-painted and soul-possessing goddess has a powerful warmth that Allahyari uses to reflect the ongoing climate change crisis.

The background of the exhibition features a video and ominous narrative by Allahyari, stating that her 3D printed goddess “restores myth and histories, the untold and the forgotten. She is a monster, and should be.”

Though her solo exhibition at the TRANSFER gallery ends on January 7, 2017, Allahyari will continue researching goddesses that reflect the contemporary issues of today. For example, she also plans to reimagine the Moroccan jinn Aisha Qandisha, seen as a protest against patriarchy and white male dominance.

Morehshin Allahyari: Saving Cultural Heritage With 3D Printing

Outside of her transcendent artwork, Allahyari also recently collaborated with Daniel Rourke on the revolutionary 3D Additivist Cookbook. Prior to that, the experimental artist launched an effort to revive artifacts from the Nineveh Museum in Mosul that were vandalized by ISIS.

Throughout her career, Allahyari has utilized 3D printing technology to express proto-feminist and cultural ideas in the form of forward-thinking art. With her latest ambitious project, the outspoken media artist looks to tackle the issues of neocolonialism and patriarchy by reinventing some of the most powerful goddesses in history.