Location: United Kingdom
AZIZ ANZABI:
From politics to poetics.
Between tradition and modernity: tapping into memorial exploration to nourish collective consciousness.
By placing interiority and personal experience at the service of political awareness, Aziz Anzabi relentlessly questions the means we have to rethink the world in order to relieve sentiments of suffering.
Experiencing Iran / Iraq War at an early age, Aziz Anzabi's encounters with iconic figures of Iranian contemporary art such as Bahman Moasses or modern poet Sohrab Sepehri radically impacted his vision. Embodying concepts of exile and oppression, Aziz Anzabi explores novel paths into the idea of free speech, shaping psychic surrealisms to awaken consciences to the violence of our over-standardized world.
“I want to mix tradition into contemporary art because I think that Qajar art is the only style that is solely Iranian, with its own unique framework and techniques”.
Navigating abstraction and figuration his works evokes a symbolic grammar, both biographical and collective. Anzabi's fantasized landscapes - his moving humans, his uncertain and distorted forms - are so personal that they become universal. They are in no way free from technology, quite the contrary: they would not exist without it. By borrowing from the ancestral Qajar tradition, Aziz Anzabi becomes both craftsman and alchemist. This clever mix of technical requirements linked to an approach of memory nourished by loss, gives life to powerful works : unconscious testimonies, timeless sequences questioning our immediate future.
Aziz Anzabi is a fully committed lucid embodiment of a new form of violent poetic activism.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
by Aziz Anzabi
The painting déjà vu created by Aziz Anzabi is part of the vulnerable series which explains war and its effects. The near dried flower shows how the war affects people and the destruction it brings. The dark colours used in the painting all reflect how war destroys and hurts people whether they are directly fighting or not .The women are a symbol of resistance and supporting of life but also can be easily hurt as they are vulnerable. The tired soldiers can reflect the uselessness of war and how it brings nothing but tiredness, destruction, hatred and death. The soldier without a leg who is trying to break the door shows how unproductive war is except of producing more war.
Original
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
102cm x 66cm
My new project called the vulnerable series is about women and their roles in life and their effect on war.
Original
Oil on canvas
102cm x 66cm
Part of his series "insignificant", Above water level ultimately conveys that with the king's happiness and exercise of power , some have to suffer. The champagne glasses symbolise celebration and joy, yet despite this the king is haunted by his cruel actions, depicted through the blood that inks the glass. The spreading of the ink in the liquid highlights that the unjust abuse of power by the king has a domino effect, not only on the lives of the people affected but also those who are indirectly affected. Ultimately the king inflicts more suffering to reinforce his power and enjoy his authority, yet he cannot fully enjoy it as he is haunted by his actions.
Based on the death of Aziz's mother in a care home. This surrealist painting clearly expresses the pain and suffering she went through in the care home. The Qajar women is a symbolism of his mother's youth and the dead, dried fish is a symbol of the effects of old age. Furthermore, the frame around the scene highlights the limited lives and freedoms, elders are restricted to in care homes. Review by: Asra Y
oil and peeling paper on canvas 102 x 66 cm
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
part of his series "insignificant" , the puppetry illustrates that power is an illusion of safety, where some with superior power enjoy committing unjust acts, to boast their authority without considering the consequences. However, Anzabi demonstrates that despite the king believing he is enjoying power without consequences, he is slowly killing himself. This is effectively demonstrated through the king being trapped in a glass container, highlighting that while power gives authority, it also creates inequality and distance. Furthermore, the deaths and the lives affected by the king, seemingly insignificant slowly taint his reputation and corrupt him which is shown through the spreading of the red ink in his container, ultimately leading to his downfall due to his Hamartia.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
Oil on canvas 102 x 66 cm
Part of his series "insignificant", Trapped illustrates that cruelty has no age. Despite the king being merely a child himself, his exercise of unjust power has lead to the infliction of suffering and cruelty to others. Through this Anzabi demonstrates that the unjust exercise of power , can often be due to mental immaturity or immaturity due to age. Thus he criticises the use of power by unfit leaders who are only capable of abusing them, and so urges people to challenge and question dictators instead of obeying to them.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
oil on canvas 102 x 66 cm
“Don't judge her by her cover”
This painting is miraculously alluring to the eyes. The featureless lady in the middle is eccentric and haunts your eyes every time you stare at it. It is obvious that Aziz has tried to indicate/ open up a passage to the thoughts of the audience through his engraved symbol: below the women's chest. Aziz has passed down Persian symbols for a long time on his obscuring ,detailed paintings, which to me now thinking about it feels like he is not just trying to create a new style of his own but again trying to open the eyes of the audience to the art world with his paintings full of clandestine tales. However what really interests me is that the woman's face is simply not bland but filled with many little veins to create a marble effect. On the left side of her face there is a colossal peel, almost like paper etched on the lavish marble, akin like a scar . The diamond shaped emerald shapes fading back in the background look like scant dancing trees moving with the emollient tune of the wind. The woman/girl is fascinating through her abnormal body shape and yet awful and ghoulish every time you glare at it. The painting absorbs you whole with great force whenever you beam at it. Overall I think that this work is very bewitching and pleasant every now and again to see, sometimes even assuring. Review by: Asra Y
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
102cm x 66cm
Aziz Anzabi created "I was judged" to show that people make judgements about others without really knowing who they are. The scene is quite horrifying as the woman in the middle has no face giving her no identity. Her face is marbled and therefore she is stone like. To me this is so tragic because it shows that people are judged by everything they do, wear and are, that they forget how to show emotions or reactions to the way people/society judges them.What amazes me is that her hands are very realistic which is unexpected comparing it to her face, which is a sign that she is humane. Aziz has dressed the lady in the style of Renaissance which was influenced by Philosophy, Literature, Architecture, Theology, Science, Government and other aspects of society.The bird with a spectrum of colours flying towards the flowers represents the woman's heart and her emotions. This is ironic to me because amongst all this horrifying imagery there is still hope and an aspect of beauty which shines and captures the attention of the audience because of it's beauty and brightly used colours. Aziz has placed small details on the bird which make it more realistic and each colour is used to contrast the other. The fact that a part of the woman is peeling away suggests that this is all just a cover and the real beauty is inside people's hearts not on their outside.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
102cm x 66cm
In his series "Don't Judge me" Anzabi aims to criticise unnecessary judgement in society, that is made based on someone's appearance or lifestyle. Through using such Dali, an important figurehead in the surrealist movement , Anzabi ultimately demonstrates that no one is free from judgement.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
oil on canvas 102 x 66 cm
In his series "Don't Judge me" Anzabi aims to criticise unnecessary judgement in society, that is made based on someone's appearance or lifestyle. Through using such Dali, an important figurehead in the surrealist movement , Anzabi ultimately demonstrates that no one is free from judgement. There have been many rumours based around Dali, ranging from his sexuality to his state of mental health. However, these are all just possibilities, deemed by people without facts. Overall Anzabi highlights how judgement obscures reality and is dangerous in society as it leads to misconceptions and biases towards individuals, made without knowledge.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
oil on canvas 102 x 66 cm
In his series "Don't Judge me" Anzabi aims to criticise unnecessary judgement in society, that is made based on someone's appearance or lifestyle. Through using such Dali, an important figurehead in the surrealist movement , Anzabi ultimately demonstrates that no one is free from judgement.
Iranian surrealism contemporary art
Oil on canvas 102 x 66 cm
“déjà vu”
“Lost Time”
“Above water level 1”
“Care home”
“The puppetry”
“Trapped”
“I was judged”
“A world witan me”
“Fatality of judgment”
“I'm everyday judged”
