Elham Pourkhani approaches miniature painting and Iranian literature in her works. In her paintings, she joins stories and narratives inspired by ancient literature and epic poetry from the works of Ferdowsi, or Nezami to the world of today. In this exhibition, although Pourkhani knows and adheres to the aesthetic guidelines of classic miniature painting so well, and preserves the same quality of line and color in
them, she completely breaks down the integrity of miniature paintings and builds up a whole new set of rules with having the old values in mind. The narratives in these paintings hold hidden meanings inspired by the key contemporary socio-political events and attach new interpretations to ancient stories. This, alongside the delicate yet complicated structure of her compositions and the wide range of colors, create a seductive but calm ambiance in her paintings that can somehow have contemporary interpretations as well. In all of the works in this series, representation consists of natural elements, architecture, and humans. In some of these pictures, the artist strives to change and rejoin the borders of imagers using white lines. Just like traditional miniature paintings, the space is whole and integrated but presents depth and perspective in a transformed manner, also the presence of upside-down elements and objects, creates a dreamy image of parallel worlds, timelines, and multiverses. However, unified spaces are not always depicted in the same manner in her works, and the artist doesn’t let us fall victim to repetitive spaces and predictable compositions. A part of this exhibition is the works from the “Restoration” series that have simpler and more open compositions compared to the other pieces. On her way to continue the path of these traditional images, the artist breaks borders and lays down a more liberating context, a space that can be derived from her own imagination and not necessarily an image from historical truths. In this series of works, together with preserving the value and magic of the original images, she saves them from destruction and ruin, and explores the transformation of forms and the original identity of the elements.