TEHRAN – Artist Bita Vakili’s new collection gives hope to visitors, promising a better world in contrast to the conflict-ridden world of today.

The collection titled “Passageways” was displayed in an exhibition at Tehran’s Ivan Gallery last week. It highlights the concept, revealing the contrast between light and darkness.

“Darkness is the condition in which we are living, while light is the optimism, which exists in the mind of people from the Middle East, and helps us be hopeful of a change for the better,” Vakili has said in an interview with the Persian service of Honaronline published on Saturday.

“These works look towards the future and promise a kind of hope to find a passageway to a better future despite all the conflicts existing in the world of today,” she added.

“The paintings show the contrast between the outside world and our inner world, portrayed by metal to depict the urban life and softer medium to show our inner side,” she said.

On using the image of fetus in her works, she explained, “Emphasizing the image of a fetus in these paintings is a kind of optimism. I do not mean to say that we are going to have a better world, but I wanted to stress that life stills goes on and there is still hope.

“The message of these works is a message of hope and peace which says though there is darkness, we can remove it and be hopeful. A fetus is the sign of birth and hope and since I am a woman, I feel the most direct thing, which can refer to birth and hope is the fetus itself,” she remarked.

“The bridge, the passageway used in these paintings, also shows that there is a way to pass and bridge the gap. We Iranians have always had this power and skill to pass through difficult situations by preserving our values and culture, and these paintings put the spotlight on this skill and power,” she concluded.

Photo: A work from Bita Vakili’s series “Passageways”

RM/YAW