Lot 48: Arash Hanaei (Iranian, b. 1978)

Arash Hanaei (Iranian, b. 1978)
Estekhareh
signed, dated and editioned in Farsi (along lower edge)
colour photographic print
27¼in x 35in.(69 x 89cm.)
Executed in 2003, this work is number one from an edition of five

'For many years illustrating stories in books was part of Iranian art. This technique, which has a long cultural past in my country, plays an important part in the structure and subject of my work.
The pictured book contains prayers and invocations and was popular for healing various illnesses. These books are still used by some people for Estekhareh, a term which means a symbolic act or a religious way of finding answers for important decisions that one needs to make or for protection against the evil eye.
Estekhareh is written with a mixture of Persian and Arabic text and usually carried out for important decisions affecting ones future for example, marriage, travel or health.'
(Arash Hanaei)

In this series Arash Hanaei's juxtaposition of the Estekhareh text with portrait photographs, a wry comment on contemporary Iran. They are strongly reminiscent of passport or identity cards, sometimes the portraits are cropped randomly.