TEHRAN -- Now you do not need to take a journey to Persepolis to see bas-reliefs of our legendary heroes. A few kilometers north of Tehran, on the northern corner of Galandoak (Imam Khomeini) Square in Lavasan, there is now an 18-meter-long bas-relief depicting Arash the Archer of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh.

Lavasan resident Ali Hossein-Khan created the work. The 34-year-old artist began his activities when he was 14. He has worked in the fields of calligraphy, painting, and sculpture. He mostly focused on painting at first and later switched to sculpture while studying painting at university.

His huge sculpture is the first modern bas-relief work in Iran.

In an interview with the Tehran Times on Monday, Hossein-Khan elaborated on his work.

“My only motive in making such a large bas-relief was to create an artistic work. The idea came to my mind when I thought about the works in Persepolis and the historical monuments. In all nations’ mythology, there is a strong muscular man who is known as the origin of power, modesty, grace, and justice, and who fights with a mythical enemy that looks like a dragon, or a lion. This symbolizes good and evil. My themes are taken from the epic stories of our great poets like Ferdowsi and his Shahnameh and depict heroes like Rustam, Arash the Archer, and Jaj the Archer.

“This huge work installed on the wall in Lavasan has no specific title. That is, I have left it to passersby to give it any name they like.

“Made of earthenware, the work was first divided into two large parts. The first was the figure itself and the head of the dragon, and the second was the tail of the dragon and the end of the work. The initial design was made on a small scale like a quick sketch and then (the final design) was created. It was a simple design, a figure riding a horse and a dragon, and the shape of the dragon is inspired by the shape of a snake. It was not a dragon with arms and hands. The work was so massive that it was difficult to make it in a workshop. My problem was that the primary medium, which was mud, could not be used in an open space because in an open space it would dry out. That is, work on the artwork had to be done in a closed space with controlled humidity, or else it would have dried up and lost its softness. So I had to make it in a house I had rented. The two pieces were 9 meters by 2.6 meters each.

“It was so large that it was hard for me to make the clay with my hands, so I had to bring seven tons of mud from Larijin near Hamedan.

“The shapes were formed this way. That is, a big piece of mud was put on the surface first. Then the form was drawn on the work to outline the limits. Then I added the volume to the primary shape to create the desired shape. While I was adding the details like eyes, I roughly shaped the pieces into eyes by hand, and then the desired form was shaped with tools.

“I have no special tools and prefer to work with my hands, but some of the sections had to be made with tools.

“The artwork was installed about two months ago. I wanted an official unveiling ceremony, but, unfortunately, there was a problem with the City Council of Lavasan, and this prevented us from holding a ceremony. I hope that the future city council will arrange a ceremony.

“The work was made in one piece, and then it was cut into pieces and taken to the furnace to be baked and then installed all together on the wall. It took 10 months to make the primary mud form of the work, and then it needed time for drying, cutting, finding new cracks, and then another six or seven months to bake the pieces in the furnace. I can say it took about two years.

“Wind, rain, and sun cause damage. However, fortunately, the work is not greatly exposed to these, especially the sun, which rises from behind it and does not hit the work. The work has been installed in an open space in Lavasan which enjoys a cold climate in winter and is cool in summer. It has a roof to protect it from rain and wind.

“The work was warmly received by the locals and visitors, since they had seen me work on the bas-relief at the location. That is, for about four or five months, the work was under construction at the location. The 700 to 800 pieces took almost one and a half months to install. About 40 or 50 pieces were installed (or reinstalled) on the wall every day.

“I installed the pieces on the wall the way tile works are installed. That is, with the help of cement, the works were attached to the wall. But it was much more difficult than installing tile work since the size was bigger and the shapes were all not the same, requiring precision and special care.

“The first statue I made was a statue of a lion and was regarded as one of the best student works when I was at university. Afterwards, I focused on sculpture.

“The problem I faced during the work was that there is no special art expert in the organizations to evaluate works and recognize the difference between a good work and a bad one. We might see artworks in a similar style in subway stations, but which are not professional, of course.

“At the present time, I have many new ideas for statues that could be installed on highways and in parks. For example, a park of poets could be established in which busts of poets are installed which could help our children learn more about our poets. I believe it is the duty of the municipalities to hire experts to help beautify their cities.

“I have no work in Tehran or in other cities. To be honest, I have become tired of working with organizations and prefer to display my works in exhibitions and accept commissions. For example, I am working on various statues of Arash the Archer now for later exhibits. I accept orders for statues of people, and I will make a statue for anyone who gives me a personal photo. I also work part-time for the Lavasan Municipality and create their publicity works. I have my own workshop in Lavasan called Honar-e Yad where I accept commissions.

“I have a new idea for this huge bas-relief work (Arash fighting the dragon). I would like to vary its appearance. That is, first the work would be in one color. The next year, when it requires renovation, it would be changed to a new color, and it would be changed to a different color every year so it wouldn’t tire the eyes of passersby.

“In the future I would like to work with municipalities of various cities on future installations.”