Shay Salehi (she/her) is a Toronto based artist utilizing interdisciplinary sculpture and installation to explore cycles within the human condition.Shay's practice has been an observation and exploration of the systems, patterns and processes that inhabit daily lives. As a first generation Canadian artist she finds an interest in the intersection between cycles, identity and the socioeconomic climate. Through research she investigates the systems we build in our lives, how we choose to question the validity of their framework and how and when we decide to break these patterns to find paths toward constructive change.In the installations, cycles or patterns emerge, either by the self-defeat built into the object or through the cyclical nature of the work. These cycles have been a core element of the work, by not only analyzing and trying to breakdown what routine or cyclical patterns are, but by also navigating through its own struggle as well. Shay explores the idea of “self defeat”, as there is something within the works inherent nature that does not allow the piece to achieve an end.In 2020, Shay received a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCADU) in Sculpture and Installation. Previous to OCADU, Shay studied glasswork at Sheridan College (2011-2014), and continues to make sculptural glasswork.