In The Burden of The Street, the element of the wall plays a significant role as a political battleground. Michael Foucault believes that power and resistance are fundamentally relative as power is so ubiquitous that it is not an obstacle to resistance. In an oppressive environment, Struggles and forms of resistance take shape against different forms of power as a starting point and carry their own strategies. Walls in totalitarian societies are utilized predominantly by the authority to propagate its ideology and influence the populace for predetermined ends while they become the tribune for dissidents to express social concern and political criticism; Shifting the power dynamics, dissidents change the possibility of oppression to a threat against authority through reclaiming the streets.
The first layer of my paintings displays heterogeneous juxtapositions investigating the psychological and psychosocial dimensions of life in oppressive societies. On the image of the walls in the second layer, I collage pieces of newspaper and photos from the world and Iran's contemporary political history along with line drawings, scrawls, texts, and stickers to create satirical and ironic situations referencing the deep dualities, disparities, and hypocrisy inherent in ruling systems. I use materials such as molding paste, Cold wax, Liquin Impasto, and a mix of oil mediums to imitate the texture of cement, concrete, and tar. Creating rough and tactile surfaces, I attempt to metaphorically reference the acts of concealment, eradication, negligence, and cultural decadence as means of control and power.
The Reflection of the Street No 01, Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 20x24inches, 2022
Inherited Passageway, Oil, collage, and mixed media on canvas, 62x55inches, 2022
Open Society No 01, Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 48x36inches, 2022
Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 40x40inches, 2022
The Blocked View No 02, Oil, collage and mixed media on wood panel, 20x20inches, 2022
The Blocked View No 02, oil, collage and mixed media on wood panel, 18x24inches, 2022
The reflection of the Street No02, Oil and mixed media on wood panel, 5x8inches, 2022
Welcome to the Brick Show, Oil, collage and mixed media on canvas, 2022