A photograph of late artist and author Sabina Khorramdel shared in memoriam by her colleagues at Ruyò Journal, which she co-founded in 2023. (all screenshots through @ruyo.journal on Instagram)
Brooklyn-based Tajik artist and author Sabina Khorramdel (Rosas) was discovered useless in her room at a luxurious wellness resort in Water Mill, New York, on Monday, October 28. The 33-year-old was an obvious “victim of violence,” per a report from the Suffolk County Police Division.
The first suspect, Thomas Gannon, reportedly confessed to her homicide earlier than dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Pennsylvania residence.
Born in Tajikistan and displaced throughout Central Asia all through her childhood because of civil battle, Khorramdel got here alone to New York Metropolis in 2009 at age 17 to pursue artwork. She finally accomplished a Movie and Media research diploma at Buy Faculty — a State College of New York (SUNY) — and launched into varied artistic instructions all through her profession. Along with sustaining an intuitive portray apply, she and her good friend Nazira Karimi co-produced a seven-channel video art work “Hafta” (2024) as a fee for the sixtieth Venice Biennale.
In 2023, Khorramdel and Karimi co-founded Ruyò Journal, a platform for artwork idea and demanding discourse revolving round movie and visible arts throughout Central Asia. Based on her web site, the artist was additionally invested in sound artwork, meditation, and intuitive output knowledgeable by transcriptions of her environment.
“Driven by her incredible energy and vision, Sabina moved walls so that gardens could flourish, inviting everyone seeking light,” her colleagues at Ruyò Journal wrote in a press release saying her dying shared on Instagram. “She shared everything she had and supported all of us. “A beautiful soul and a gifted artist, she left an impactful legacy in the arts of Central Asia. The world feels empty without her.”
Sabina Khorramdel (left) and colleague Anisa Sabiri (proper) photographed for a Ruyò Journal occasion on the College of Central Asia
Many questions encompass the circumstances of Khorramdel’s dying because the post-mortem report has but to be revealed. The first suspect, Gannon, a 56-year-old man from Wayne County, Pennsylvania, owned a tile firm and was reportedly financing Khorramdel’s artwork profession.
Reviews point out that Gannon left the resort the morning Khorramdel was discovered, having taken a taxi from the Lengthy Island resort to his Honesdale residence some 200 miles away. The coroner’s report outlines that he confessed to the homicide in a textual content message to a member of the family earlier than ending his personal life.
The character of Gannon and Khorramdel’s relationship stays unclear. Elizabeth Phillips, a SUNY Buy professor and mentor to Khorramdel, alleged to the New York Occasions that Gannon was the late artist’s boyfriend and benefactor, saying that they first grew to become concerned in 2021.
Phillips mentioned that Gannon and Khorramdel traveled collectively on varied retreats and excursions on his dime, and that he “showed an ardor and intensity that was unnerving,” warning Khorramdel to be protected if she selected to finish the connection. In August, Gannon donated $1,000 to Khorramdel’s GoFundMe marketing campaign to lift funds to attend her first artist residency in Portugal meant to happen this month, captioning his donation with “You have an amazing gift and soon all the world will see. I love you❤️”
Neither Karimi nor Phillips instantly responded to Hyperallergic’s inquiries, nor did Khorramdel’s colleagues at Ruyò Journal, who put out a secondary Instagram assertion decrying tabloid speculations and sensationalism across the homicide.
“We want to make it clear that no family member or close friend of Sabina has spoken to any media outlets,” the publication’s assertion reads. “Any information circulating from these sources is unverified and should not be trusted.”
