What is the nature of a revelation in our contemporary world? Although a sacred narrative can be inspired by a transcendent source, this inspiration necessarily happens through human language, which is historically determined and reflects the conditions of its contemporary world. A collection of simple profane elements are combined to indicate the transcendent (as John Locke used to believe, Angel = man + wing). Reinterpretation of a sacred narrative based on our everyday experience proposes a dilemma: either we accept our detachment from the sacred source and accept our alienation, or we try to get intimate with it and therefore mix it up with our contemporary elements and necessarily make it impure. The present exhibition is an attempt to counter this dilemma through the medium of painting. Thus, a sacred light has made these paintings' colors more vivid and their textures more delicate. But this is also apparent that within the framework of our contemporary artistic production one cannot act just as the medieval illustrators. There has to remain a critical distance in the pictures to keep them "contemporary". What I have attempted here is to present the spiritual narratives, while keeping to the literalness of signification in post-conceptualist painting by constantly reminding the viewer that "this is merely a painting".

Zartosht Rahimi