Orkideh Torabi

Orkideh Torabi imagines herself as a director who, through painting, resituates the power dynamics of patriarchal society in her native Iran. Rendered with simple button-like eyes, missing noses, unnatural skin hues, and tacked-on mustaches, her unabashedly humorous paintings imbue the protagonists with an emasculated and clown-like state of being. She juxtaposes her cartoonish images of contemporary men against vivid patterns that are influenced by Persian miniatures, small yet highly detailed illustrations that have been an integral part of Iranian culture since the 13th century.