Desolated, 2022

36×36

mixed media

“Desolated” is a narrative torn from the headlines and heart of Iran’s current turmoil. As an artist, I’ve watched the concept of ‘home’ unravel amidst the fervor of protests for freedom, seen through the eyes of the most vulnerable—our children. This diptych, created with gesso, acrylic, and gold foil on a 36”x36” canvas, depicts a heart-wrenching transition from the familiar warmth of a domestic rug to the cold, hard concrete of the streets.

The left panel breathes life into Kashan’s Carpet, an emblem of Iranian heritage and familial comfort. This once cherished artifact, a symbol of home and the stories told within its folds, is now fragmenting, its intricate patterns giving way to the stark reality on the right. Here, the texture of the street takes over—rough, unyielding, and stained with the struggles of those who have taken to the streets in search of liberation.

This shift represents the altered lives of countless Iranian children, for whom the rich tapestry of their home life is being replaced by the gray uncertainty of asphalt. The protests, the arrests, and the grievous losses are etching a new kind of memory—one where the streets may become as familiar as the patterns of an old rug, and the echoes of chants for freedom replace lullabies.

In the fabric of this painting, I mourn the innocence lost and the security that has been stolen from our youth. It is a call to witness, to remember, and to empathize with the plight of those whose lives are forever changed. “Desolated” is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and a lament for the childhoods that have been displaced by the harsh new reality of the streets.