Artist’s Statement

“Beauty will save the world” – a famous reflection of Dostoyevsky resonates always in my ears. The second one is a quote from a Persian poet Saadi who stated “Adam's children are limbs of one body - That in creation are made of one gem”.
The richness of my homeland, a crossroad of Persian, Turkish, Asian and Arab culture influences, with hints of European and Islamic traces remains a point of reference for me. Hence my work is inspired by traditional embroidery, tapestry and pottery of my region, Arab calligraphy, Iranian miniatures and carpet making. I try to focus on the issue of aesthetics as resulting from our local culture, history and also politics. On how we produce our knowledge and memory. How we define our cultural identity, then how we reproduce it in our art and design. My work includes paintings, fashion illustrations, collages and fashion design concepts. While referring to traditional archetypes of Azeri, Kurdish and Persian origin I go further and weigh against western clichés and western patterns and ideas and more global trends and blending them into new meanings. I follow the memento of the poet reminding that all of us belong to one human family. Thus in my work, I try to merge the flavour of my home culture with the concepts of the modern world, where people of different backgrounds and walks of life can define themselves anew without cutting off their roots while enriching their identity through the opening to the others. I strive and hope for bringing about beauty and understanding.