Art
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“An artist’s greatest responsibility is to reflect the times that you’re living in” – In conversation with Mina Alikhani

Meet Mina Alikhani, an Iranian-American multidisciplinary artist, who has made a name for herself with her figurative surrealist style and her bold commitment to honesty while defiantly portraying cultural and societal norms. She is a purpose-driven artist whose work addresses pressing issues, such as political and humanitarian injustices, gender apartheid, and artistic oppression. Mina Alikhani talks to KALTBLUT about her artistic journey and the influence of her upbringing and cultural experience.

KALTBLUT: As an Iranian-American artist, how would you say your unique perspective of being raised by two different cultures shapes your art? 

Mina: Having been raised in a Middle Eastern household but being born in America has been an interesting experience. Since my family came over in 1979, pre-revolution, I was raised listening to the stories and memories of my family members, such as my parents and grandparents.

This way, I got to learn, understand, and see what the country of Iran was like for its people before 1979. I discovered how progressive Iran was in arts, fashion, architecture, poetry, and music. Both my mother and father were musicians. In ’79, my mom was a singer, and later it became illegal for women to sing in Iran.

One of my grandparents came over much later, in the late ’80s to early ’90s, so I got to see the impact of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s policies and theocratic rule on the people of Iran and how deeply it affected, traumatized, and indoctrinated messages in them.

How that translates into my work is that I have a clear understanding of what that moment of oppression did. Through my relatives’ recollections, I got to hear and understand what had been taken away from them and how unjust it was. I looked around the world and noticed that the rest of the world didn’t have much of an idea about what this country was like before ’79.

Nowadays, it seems people assume that all the women in Iran want to wear hijabs, are all of Islamic faith, and want to live with these theocratic policies. When my cousin came over, she became my best friend and began to tell me stories of what the IRI was doing to women who violated the hijab policies, about the rapes and the amputations. It inspired me to research and learn more about things like honour killings and the unjust judicial system. It was impactful for me because I always thought, how am I so lucky? How does the world not know? That’s how it started pouring into my work.

It was impactful for me because I always thought, how am I so lucky? How does the world not know? That’s how it started pouring into my work.

KALTBLUT: Last year, you created a series of paintings titled “Revolution.” Was it inspired by Iranian history, or did you aim to express your support for the resistance in Iran with the title?

Mina: It’s both. It has always been my intention to create this work. I had my first solo exhibition on September 16th, and coincidentally, it was the same day when all the protests and resistance movements broke out among the women of Iran towards the government. This was sparked by the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini due to her improper wearing of the hijab. They beat her to death, which triggered this uprising.

I had planned to create this work when I started receiving messages from people in Iran, DMing me, saying: “Please, share this information, they’re going to cut the internet.” What followed was women and protestors getting killed, shot, hanged, executed, and their families mourning them.

After September 16th and the movement that ensued, with all the deaths, the work I created aimed to represent all the women. Their bodies are a pale gray, resembling death, and the concept is that the women come back in the afterlife. The work has an ironic basis because the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that their actions will earn them favour in heaven. What I wanted to depict in my work is that when they die and go to the afterlife, they’re met with the women they wronged and no virgins as a reward. There’s a bit of play on that with the work.

“Inshallah” — Revolution Series by Mina Alikhani.

I wanted my work to depict freedom, and within that freedom, there is defiance.

KALTBLUT: Looking at your paintings, there is a significant emphasis on the beautiful, uncovered hair. Is it a conscious choice?

Mina: Hairstyles have always been another form of freedom of expression, just like the nude form of the body. It’s a defiance in a world where women are taught to treat their bodies as commodities. I wanted my work to depict freedom, and within that freedom, there is defiance.

KALTBLUT: What is your opinion on the protests and the current situation in Iran now?

Mina: It’s been ongoing since September 16th, and it’s not only affecting women; it’s affecting everybody. The world needs to know that what’s happening in Iran is not isolated to Iran only. The Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2023, Narges Mohammadi, is currently held in Evin prison with no fair trial. The government of the Islamic Republic is one of the greatest sources of oppression in the world because no one can stand up to them.

In the current climate of what’s happening, the United Nations still appointed the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran to their Human Rights Council chair. For me, what’s happening is unjust and only getting worse. It is impacting the entire world slowly, and if we aren’t awake to it, they will become more powerful.

KALTBLUT: Can you tell us a bit more about your creative process? Your approach is quite specific, with mostly large-scale oil paintings covering the features of the faces. Was it always your intent, or have you ever painted people’s faces in the beginning?

Mina: My intention behind not putting facial features on my figures so far has been to allow viewers space to access the painting. In my perspective, once you start putting facial features on your art, it becomes a little more identifiable. You tend to associate the face with a certain person, but what I have found is that leaving the facial features open in my work allows the viewer to imagine and dream, maybe even insert themselves in the story and imagine what it would be like.

I want my work to be an invitation to think and immerse themselves in the painting.

KALTBLUT: Do your paintings represent people you know, derived from history, or do they come from a more intuitive space?

Mina: I would say my work initially began from a look inward. I drew a lot of inspiration from isolation. I would think, dream, and imagine in a bit of a surrealistic way. As the works have evolved and as I’ve evolved as an artist, I’ve started to draw a lot of inspiration from history and from the emotional, societal impact, and humanitarian impact of choices made along the street.

At first, I started inside and in narcissistic isolation, as most artists do, and then my heart kind of broke open when I started to pay more attention to the outside world. Nowadays, a lot of the inspiration comes from what I see, research, and then what I believe to be true. There are so many opinions on the news and social media; it’s hard to grasp sometimes what’s real and what isn’t. My current work is inspired by truth, justice, and history.

KALTBLUT: Is there any ritual that you have to get yourself started on a painting?

Mina: It’s not necessarily a ritual, but I have found that I do have a thing, a creative process, where I surround myself with blank canvases, and I kind of just sit there and stare at them to imagine what they could be. I don’t sketch the idea out on paper but rather in my mind while looking at them. It’s a sort of meditation, and it has to be unobstructed, so I can properly visualize.

As I use oil paint, you can only go so far in the first sitting; then you have to step back and let it dry before you keep touching it; otherwise, it can become a mess. The moment I’ve gone far enough with one, I’ll be thinking and working on another piece, and when I return to the previous one, things start to make sense. It’s quite a slow process where creativity is flowing with the blank canvases unfolding and becoming a story.

KALTBLUT: Now you’re working on a series titled “Crimes against God.” Can you tell us more about what inspired it?

Mina: After I put out “Revolution,” I thought to myself: “What is the best way to get people to understand?” The conclusion I came to is you have to make it relatable. How do I make it relatable? What if everybody really knew that? What if everybody found out the truth? In Iran and Afghanistan, for example, there’s a policy called “Moharebeh,” which translates to “crimes against God.”

Dancing and singing in public, posting on social media that you disagree with something, being LGBTQIA+, divorced, having sex outside of marriage are all crimes against God. Doing all of these things, that in modern-day western society is allowed to do, gets you charged as a crime against God, and you can be executed or imprisoned when caught.

That was a really important thing to be set on the public stage for the world to understand. It’s everyday things that we do that you could be killed for over there.

KALTBLUT: How do politics intersect with your artistic work?

Mina: They play a huge role because the politics of the world, the geopolitical matters of the Middle East, are creating a humanitarian crisis. I just happen to not be one of those people who can turn away when I see suffering.

When I was very young, I had a lot happen to me when I wasn’t protected; no one spoke for me, and no one stood up for me. A lot of that has really stuck with me as I’ve grown up. Through creating my work and being a voice for the oppressed, in a way, I’m also healing myself. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to turn away from this type of work.

Of course, I have other things that I find are cool and interesting, but in the end, they’re all matters that are humanitarian-based and that possess a deep ethereal element. I started from a very spiritual place, and it continues to be what I’m going to be weaving back in. But I’ll never be able to not intertwine humanitarian and political matters in my work.

“Godspee”d — Revolution Series by Mina Alikhani

KALTBLUT: Have you had a crucial moment in your life where you decided to be an artist? Or did it happen more gradually?

Mina: You know, it’s been a gradual process for me over a lifetime. I started as a kid. I was a very quiet, loner kid. I still am. I would read a lot of books. I’m 39, so I was born in 1984, and we didn’t have iPads and phones, right? In the process, I would always draw in the borders of my books. As I grew up, I would sketch the female form, like ballerinas or different women that I knew and would see around me. I just wanted to draw them in their dresses and hair.

As time passed, I wasn’t raised to believe that being an artist was something you could treat as a serious profession. It was always something that was not taken seriously. People would say: “You made a great painting. Now go get a real job.”

I had a moment, though, about five years ago, where I looked around and realised I’m happiest when I’m painting. Over the years, I would always have a canvas in my home. Slowly, it became more and more of what I was doing. So I thought: “I’m the happiest and I feel that life makes sense when I’m doing this. Why wouldn’t I just do it? Just take a risk. Take a chance.” And every step I took into that unknown, I was wondering, is this going to work out, and here we are.

I’m the happiest and I feel that life makes sense when I’m doing this. Why wouldn’t I just do it? Just take a risk. Take a chance.

KALTBLUT: What would you say is your main goal with your artistic work as of now?

Mina: I feel like you have to know the answer to that as an artist. I’ll say this for me, I believe that an artist’s greatest responsibility is to reflect the times that you’re living in, in some capacity. Maybe not everyone agrees, but I believe that.

My drive and purpose that keep me in this space of constantly creating now are a sense of responsibility to tell the truth and draw attention to what’s happening around me. That’s my motivation. My goal is to just keep on creating things that tell people the truth in a way that makes them want to know it without turning away.

Follow @mina.alikhani on Instagram to keep up with her upcoming exhibitions, or alternatively, check out her website here.