Parisima Chegini - Valley of The Surrealist Puppets

Written by Sophie Marx

We are all made up of layers – organs, skin, cells, experiences, hardships, and joy. Our bodies exist in a metaphysical reality, yet our mind and many of the layers defining us can be seen as walking a tightrope, swinging between reality and a mystical world of imagination.

We immerse ourselves in this morphing of worlds, writing our ideas down, performing them on stages, slipping into characters so very unlike ourselves. Often overlooked within the overstimulation of modernity is one of the most ancient art forms bringing our imagination alive before our eyes – the art of puppetry.

By creating characters that exist beyond traditional narratives, surrealist puppeteer Parisima Chegini invites her audience into a world where emotions, memories, and subconscious imagery take shape within her reimagination of traditional puppetry.

On Chegini’s stage, whether that be her camera screen, the streets of Paris, or within an exhibition, her puppets exist alongside their creator, morphing the worlds of imagination and reality.

It is a confrontation between entities, where the transformation and duality of humanity and fiction are portrayed in ways that exceed live acting and animation as puppet and puppeteer enter into a symbiotic synchronicity.

“They witness not only the puppet as a character but also the act of its creation, its manipulation, and its struggle for independence. This interplay generates a dialogue between control and freedom, between creator and creation, turning the performance into a metaphor for deeper existential questions.”

Since her early childhood, the Iranian artist would put on performances, primarily re-enacting the story of Snow White, for which her classmates would gather around her to watch the show during recess.

Later, she studied Theatre Directing in Iran and France and began exploring her current medium during 2020: “After stepping into the world of puppetry and staging my first puppet theatre performance based on a tale from Shahnameh, I realized that puppets were the medium I had been searching for all along – a way to bring my imagination to life without limitations.”

“I have always sought to tell my stories and dreams without the limitations of the real world. Puppets allow me to create characters that are both human-like and beyond human; they are a fusion of imagination, technology, and identity.”

Throughout the puppets and masks she is creating, she seeks to capture human emotions outside of their natural frame, holding them up to us in the shape of a distorted mirror, unlocking our subconscious and allowing us to see the hidden beauty within the grotesque.

The role Chegini assigns her creations exceeds that of a manipulated marionette. Instead, they take on characteristics of both a guiding light for the audience and a character of its own essence, which we, as the onlookers, get to explore. Yet, they are not merely tools for storytelling – they are the story itself.

“I believe that puppets have the power to awaken our hidden emotions and thoughts; they confront parts of ourselves that we might otherwise ignore in the physical world. My goal is to showcase this latent power through puppetry and take my audience on an inner journey beyond the constraints of the material world.”

In line with this expression of her craft, Chegini considers herself a “surrealist puppeteer,” as she reflects the unconscious mind, hidden emotions, and images drawn from dreams, myths, and symbols in her work.

“My approach is personal and experimental. Rather than strictly following the principles of surrealism, my work is shaped by intuition and personal experience.”

“The puppets I create are a fusion of abstract shapes and realistic details. I use unconventional proportions, rough textures, and a combination of materials to construct forms that appear both unfamiliar and strangely human.”

In order to breathe life into previously lifeless papier-mâché, Chegini uses a combination of sculpting, moulding, and fabric techniques for every mood, revealing a one-of-a-kind face as unique as our own.

“The process begins with sculpting the face in clay based on my vision for each character. Once the sculpt is finished, I take a mould using plastic or papier-mâché. Since the clay is destroyed in the process, each face is unique and can only be produced once.”

“For the body and structural elements, I use a mix of foam, sponge, and silicone, which provide both flexibility and movement. These materials help create an organic, lifelike presence while maintaining a surreal and expressive quality.”

With its deeply textured face and elongated arms, The Elderly Guardian embodies the tension

between a nurturing entity and control, the presence and simultaneous absence of a ghostly guiding presence over us.

Inspired by the silent ways in which generational knowledge is passed down, the puppet, dressed in simple yet symbolic attire, embodies the invisible phenomenon in which the past and present coexist within us, as well as in the invisible streams of knowledge surrounding us.

“The Elderly Guardian is a figure that represents memory, legacy, and the weight of time. The use of exaggerated hands suggests a history of touch, guidance, and storytelling.”

While she is the creator that enables puppet entities to enter the human world, she highlights that it was the puppets who simultaneously welcomed her into their immortal, infinite world; it is they who hold the power to reshape reality and blur the boundaries between the real and imaginary.

“Puppetry allows me to go beyond the physical limitations of live performance and manifest dreams, fears, and fragmented identities in a surreal, visual form. It is a unique medium where contradictions – beauty and the grotesque, fragility and power, human and non-human – can coexist and challenge our perception of reality.”

“Many people still do not recognise puppetry as a serious and complex art form, often only associated with performances for children. However, in reality, puppetry is one of the most profound and multi-layered forms of performance art, capable of expressing abstract, philosophical, and social concepts in a unique way.”