Shay Salehi is an artist currently living and working in New York City. Anchored by a passion against animal exploitation, her interdisciplinary practice explores the complexities of human–nonhuman relationships. In each body of work, she examines a different space where humans interact with non human animals- factory farms, roadsides, and sanctuaries- and dissects these environments to reframe our understanding of how humans negotiate power across species. Her research investigates the frameworks that enforce human superiority and the ownership and capitalization of nonhuman bodies. By tracing histories of dominance, domestication, and control, her practice opens space for alternative futures grounded in attention and respect toward interspecies solidarity.
Born in Canada to Polish and Iranian parents, Salehi’s upbringing across diverse cultural traditions has deeply shaped her perspective on human and nonhuman life. This layered background has heightened her awareness of how colonial ideologies structure systems of control and exploitation, reinforcing the connections between social, political, and environmental hierarchies. This exposure to diverse cultural values has reinforced her understanding of nonhuman ecologies as sites of care, resistance and sources of knowledge in their own right.
To contact, please email shayhsalehi@gmail.com