Nearly all of Forouhar’s work is produced on a computer. The freeform bodies of her drawings are worked into the tight geometrical symmetries of medieval Islamic ornament, the scenes of aggression and cruelty organized into delicate patterns and expressive Rorschach blobs. Digital design allows her to infiltrate the space of miniature painting, replacing its spiritual order with her own critique of traditional systems. Black Is My Name, White Is My Name (2010)—whose title is a reference to My Name Is Red, Orhan Pamuk’s tale of murder and intrigue among Ottoman miniature painters—has the dizzying texture of a Victor Vasarely or MC Escher print. On closer view, blindfolded faces emerge from a sea of unblinking eyes. The image has all the flatness of traditional Persian painting, the same lack of shadows and perspectival depth, but turns ornament against itself to speak of violence, loss and disorder. Media Farzin
Black is my Name, White is my Name IIII, 2016
Series of 2 digital drawings, digital print on Photo Rag, all 80X80 cm
Black is my Name, White is my Name III, 2014
Series of 2 digital drawings, digital print on Turner paper, all 80X80 cm
Black is my Name, White is my Name I, 2010
Series of 2 digital drawings, digital print on Photo Rag, all 80X80 cm
