A woman in a breezy red frock leisurely lies on an opulent Persian carpet — the hemline of her dress fluttering in a silent dance in the air. Her legs are tangled and her body bends in a lyrical posture as if imagining the most beautiful dream. Her face with eyes closed expresses a calm brought to life with thin glazes of contrasting colours. On another canvas in front of us, a child wearing a striped sweater, sleeps on the arm of a chair, holding onto a fluffy emerald green pillow embodying what sweet dreams of childhood may look like. These evocative paintings are from Iranian artist Ebrahim Barfarazi’s first art show in India — ‘In The Land Of Dreams’ being held in Delhi’s Gallery Pristine Contemporary.
Featuring 18 oil paintings, it explores sleep as a physical and emotional state. “When one sleeps, one rests, one escapes, one finds peace, and one rejuvenates. In the quietude of rest, the body becomes a portrait of stillness and vulnerability, exuding a sense of safety, soundness, and security. Sleep transforms the human form into an expression of serenity — closed eyes, softened features, and relaxed postures tell stories of release and trust,” says Arjun Butani co-founder of Gallery Pristine Contemporary during our walk-through.
Human isolation
Barfarazi’s figurative works largely feature women. While they seem to gently surrender to slumber, a close look portrays their solitude, dejection and loneliness. For instance, a woman is lying down in a fetal position with a hand suspended in the air. Another canvas painted in dull shades of black, grey and brown, depicts the disturbing image of a woman sleeping in a dingy cell amidst harsh winter with just a thin blanket over her. Here sleep is not a peaceful sanctuary; it provokes indignation. In another canvas, is a woman in a red night dress, lying on her bed resting on a torn and stitched-back pillow as if daydreaming with half-shut eyes, far away from her present reality. “We live in a world with nearly eight billion people. So what is the reason for all this loneliness which is the biggest mess in our world today? I wish to amplify the collective cry of humanity’s isolation through the loneliness of the women,” he tells TMS.
Barfarazi further uses sleep as a metaphor for the unawakened human consciousness. “Man is destroying himself every day by destroying the Earth. Population, pollution, politics, etc. are fuelling this destruction. Any ideology that causes man to fall into selfishness destroys the whole. Due to human actions, we will have a polar summer without ice in 2040. This will be the beginning of an environmental disaster with consequences,” says the artist. Arjun Sawhney, co-founder of the gallery, finds Barfarazi’s social commentary quite relevant. “The world is in chaos, there is conflict, war, and pain,” he says. “The flow of information is so constant that perhaps humans have become jaded to its onslaught. Are we seeing what’s happening around and yet not seeing? The body of work addresses this question where the paintings work at two levels, the body at rest, and the unseen gaze.”
Nudity beyond obscenity
Barfarazi’s 15-year-long career as a Tehran-based artist had him paint on subjects like the duality of human nature, the impact of time on identity and the interplay between memory and reality. However, it is the first time that his Expressionist works portray nude female figures — a subject matter that he cannot show at home due to strict Islamic law, which if defied especially by women, could result in death penalty, prison terms and other severe punishments. “Throughout history, the oppression that has been inflicted on women has always been greater than that on men. While dreaming, women can have access to everything. I imagine a world where their dreams become reality,” says the 43-year-old artist who uses his art to free, through momentarily, a history of restrictions imposed on women when he paints them in their most unrestrained, bare, and intimate moments. In one frame, he paints a nude woman partly covered by a bedsheet, clinching her feet to her chest. She gazes intently at the viewer, but not in an erotic way. She’s seeking a sense of security of not being harmed or judged in her most unguarded, exposed state. In another painting, a woman sleeps bare on the bed, with her hands holding her body in a state of protectiveness. She is caressed by the soft glow of light which the artist uses as a symbol of “hope”. Another painting portrays a scantily-clad woman in a stomach-sleeping position, half-covered by the delicate folds of the blanket. Most of such nude figures seem to be healing while dreaming, bringing the focus not on obscenity but on what goes beneath their flesh — their desires, apprehensions, dilemmas, anxieties and flights of fantasies. “Through dreams, the fetters of the mind are loosened and imagination takes us into realms unknown and unseen. What captivates us in the real world often finds a voice in our dreams. That is a fascinating thought and to watch it come alive on canvases is quite exhilarating,” says Sawhney about the show.
‘In the Land of Dreams’ is on view till April 10, at Gallery Pristine Contemporary, Defence Colony, from 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM.