Raoof Haghighi’s works will be shown at A Gallery in Knightsbridge

An Iranian artist’s new exhibition responds to the country’s regime’s oppression and denial of rights with freedom of expression, writes Claudia Lee.

The works of Raoof Haghighi will be shown at A Gallery in Knightsbridge, from April 7 to 16.

Mr Haghighi was raised in a family of eight artists under an authoritarian regime in Shiraz, Iran.

Through his work, Mr Haghighi conveys his belief in the importance of truth for the future of his nation, and particularly the freedom of Iranian women.

Painting is Like Breathing for Me explores his poetic, no-holds-barred response to the restrictions and domination of his fellow nationals and the barbaric treatment of women.

After experiencing decades of denied free-speech, his drawings respond by communicating as freely as possible.

By expressing what those still in Iran are prevented from saying, Mr Haghighi’s works have become a beacon of the Persian tradition of poets, artists and philosophers.

Since the Iranian government’s September 2022 ban of Instagram, Raoof dedicated his portrait of a tattooed woman toying with her hijab at the Royal Institute of Portrait Painters to “all the brave women in Iran who are currently fighting for their freedom”.

He also painted a portrait of actress and activist Golshifteh Farahani, hashtagged a drawing of a woman’s loose hair turning to wings with #MahsaAmini, the woman who died in suspicious circumstances after being jailed for not covering her hair.

Mr Haghighi’s uncompromising attention to expressing his truth is testament to what we miss when the right to speech is taken away.

Website: https://www.agallery.uk/gallery/raoof_haghighi.php

Picture: Just Take Them and Leave Me Alone. Picture: Raoof Haghighi