Am I your god?

My latest series of paintings is about women's presence and absence in the world, and in religions. I started this series after the death of Neda Agha-Soltan in 2009, after seeing the blood gush out of this innocent being. This series also started after I had left my home and my job in Iran, when I felt forced to explain myself in France, defend my country and my people against the false public perceptions of Iranians living in the dark ages. I blamed all of this on the current government of Iran and I suffered as a result of having to explain and defend myself. Through these paintings I criticize religions because of the limitations that they set against women. Using paradoxical images, such as a happy face losing blood, and the concept of metamorphoses, I question whether there are any differences between Satan and angels, men and women. Why is it that there was never a female prophet (in Islam)?

In my paintings the images of women are stylized, in order to depict my feelings and ideas. In my self-portraits, emotions are either absent from my face, or they surprisingly contradict the situation I'm in. For example, I may be smiling as I suffer. The lack of recognizable geographic locations and realistic references of time or place gives these works a universal meaning.