Mariam Tafsiri’s art is an extension of her identity. A British-Iranian living in London, her illustrations are inspired by Qajar art, Persian miniature paintings, and Islamic designs. According to Tafsiri, her interest in Qajar art developed at an early age, taking inspiration from the unibrowed women who presented a very different concept of beauty to that regularly portrayed in the West.
“I think as a child, I found it quite confusing because it opens your eyes to the fact that beauty is subjective and not the objective standard that’s fed to us through popular media,” she went on to explain in an interview with Leik. “More generally, I think Qajar art is really interesting because of the way the European economic and political influences on Iran fed through into its art, developing a new style of portraiture.”
Aside from being inspired by traditional Persian art, Tafsiri’s illustrations are also very much in dialogue with the people around her. As such, her creations are both traditional and untraditional. “My main inspiration in art has always been people,” she says. “I’ve drawn portraits ever since I was young. I think that’s part of why I love miniature paintings because it captures people in very free-flowing positions and tells a story, unlike, for example, European paintings which were largely created to boast of the sitter’s wealth.”
“I wouldn’t say my work has a direct message – I don’t think it’s explicitly political through slogans and overtly political statements (I try to avoid that really),” she says. “But I also think placing Middle Eastern individuals in a beautiful context is actually political in itself”.
Dive into her unconventionally beautiful art:
