Lot 510: f - Rokni Haerizadeh , Iranian B. 1978 Snakes and Ladders acrylic on canvas

signed and dated 1383 (A.P./A.D. 2005) acrylic on canvas

measurements note 150 by 199.6cm.; 59 by 78 2/3 in.

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

The fantasy world that Rokni Haerizadeh depicts on his canvas is an outrageous, generally disturbing, always moving glimpse into the imaginary world of a truly inspirational young artist. Haerizadeh's visual vocabulary is derived from his own Iranian classical and popular culture, as well as that of the West. Wide hipped women with large almond eyes and long braids recall the quintessential beauties of the Qajar period in nineteenth century Iran, yet they play the archetypal western game of snakes and ladders. Haerizadeh plays with scale and colour as well as cultural symbols to create an impression of otherness, something strange and nightmarish. Whilst his work appears to convey something outside of reality, it represents through obscure imagery the meeting of cultures in the Middle East. Where eastern and western moral, religious, and cultural ideals are colliding with unpredictable results.