From Surface to Space: Experimental Approaches to Photo Collage & Assemblage - Winter 2026

In this course, students will explore how photography and collage can evolve into physical, spatial artworks through the integration of found objects, material textures, and personal narratives. Beginning with traditional image-based collage, the class will gradually transition into assemblage — examining how meaning shifts when images break the surface and enter three-dimensional space. Through hands-on assignments and conceptual exercises, students will investigate layering, composition, texture, and spatial storytelling. We will study both historical and contemporary artists who use collage and assemblage as tools for memory, disruption, and transformation. Emphasis will be placed on personal image archives, the symbolic use of objects, and an openness to experimenting with mixed media and physical materials. This course includes a series of progressive projects moving from 2D to 3D, supported by readings, group critiques, and class discussions. Students will complete a final assemblage-based project that reflects their individual artistic voice.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Maryam Dehbozorgi, born in Iran and based in the United States, is an interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges memory, identity, and cultural heritage. With academic roots in Graphic Design and Painting from Soore University in Tehran, and an MFA in New Genres from the University of Washington in Seattle, her practice is grounded in both traditional training and contemporary experimentation.

Her creative journey took a pivotal turn in 2014 during her studies with acclaimed Iranian artist Mohsen Zare, where her exploration of self and narrative began to evolve. Maryam Dehbozorgi’s work engages with the reinterpretation of overlooked or marginalized narratives, offering a critical lens on established systems of meaning, value, and aesthetics. Through a layered visual language, she challenges dominant cultural structures and invites reflection on collective memory, personal history, and the instability of fixed identities. Rooted in the experience of migration and displacement, her practice seeks to reconstruct a renewed relationship with the past and explore shifting notions of “home” and belonging. Navigating between presence and absence, individual and collective, past and present, her work creates contemplative spaces where viewers are invited to question inherited narratives and reconsider their place within broader social and historical contexts.

Internationally exhibited, her pieces have appeared in prominent venues across the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Iran. Highlights include the Henry Art Museum, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, in Seattle, as well as her acclaimed solo exhibition Flight Between Walls at Hamres Gallery in Tehran (2020).

A recipient of the Top Scholar Award and the Gonzales Graduate Student Scholarship from the University of Washington, Maryam Dehbozorgi continues to contribute a distinct Iranian voice to the global art conversation, weaving personal experience with universal themes through a richly layered visual language.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR STUDENTS

• Weekly attendance is vital to student success in PCNW courses. We require that students attend the first meeting in order to retain their spot in the class. A waiver may be granted if permission is given by, and subsequent arrangements made with, both the PCNW Registrar and Faculty. Please see our Education Policies for details about attendance policies and academic expectations.
• PCNW adheres to a strict payment, cancellation and refund policy. Please review our Payment & Refund Policies prior to registration.
• Intermediate and advanced courses have prerequisites which students must satisfy prior to enrollment. Prerequisites may be waived based on experience or prior courses taken through other institutions. To verify that you meet the prerequisite(s) for a course, contact Jennifer Brendicke, Registrar at jbrendicke@pcnw.org.
• Students are required to provide their own camera, unless otherwise noted in the course description. If you have questions about camera equipment or resources, contact us at pcnw@pcnw.org.
• Additional materials and supplies, not covered by a materials fee for a course, are the responsibility of the student. Detailed information about course expectations, required texts and materials will be provided at the start of the quarter.
• Students should prepare to spend several hours per week completing assignments outside of class, which may require use of the PCNW facilities; view our Rental Rates for details about additional fees. Rental fees for use of PCNW Facilities are a separate cost from tuition.

Images © Maryam Dehbozorgi