Mehrshad Khalili (Mersh), born in 1993 in Mashhad, Iran, is a Los Angeles–based fine artist whose practice begins where memory and existence blur. His work is defined by a signature scratch technique on clayboard and sculptural forms inspired by the fragility of babyhood. Khalili’s art investigates vulnerability, purity, and the subconscious, uncovering images that feel as if they have always existed beneath the surface. With a background in architecture, his practice carries a structural precision that sharpens the tension between raw symbolism and deliberate design, creating works that are both meticulously constructed and emotionally unrestrained