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Iranian artist, Shiva Ahmadi, works in various mediums such as sculpture, video animations, as well as painting. She prefers watercolor because of its fluidity and being slightly out of control, similar to that of her subject matter (Genocchio, 5). Watercolor is also a soft, beautiful medium that represents her anti-war agenda and how she longs for peace. Ahmadi was three when the Islamic Revolution began, witnessing the implementation of strict religious laws that aimed at constraining women and their rights. The role of oil in the Middle East is also a common theme in Ahmadi's work, as it effects politics, economics, and society. The formal beauty of her work complicates the violent and oppressive themes expressed in her work (Ahmadi Studio). Her early watercolors address what Ahmadi describes as political, social, and psychological aspects of experiences in contemporary Islamic societies (Genocchio, 5).

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From Throne Series, Watercolor on Aquabord, 17 x 11.5in, 2012

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Bloodshed in the form of intricate ornamentation is seen in this Untitled piece from Ahmadi. The red paint is almost hard to digest but remains beautiful. The faceless ruler sitting on top of the throne holds a grenade. This represents corruption and the conflict between people in power, able to be armed, and regular people of society (Johnson Museum of Art).

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Ahmadi's watercolors represent experiences in contemporary Islamic societies, with a particular focus on representing the chaos of war, her work also invites the viewer to consider how these faceless rulers and chaos constrain the rights of women (Mohammad, 74). Growing up during the beginning of the Iranian Revolution has had a lot of influence on Ahmadi's work. When the Iranian government fell in 1979, Iranians celebrated freedom and independence from the United States. With great change, comes deep and lasting wounds sometimes (Erdbrink). Eventually an Islamic Republic materialized, built on ideologies inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini. New rules were put into effect with the idea that they would prevent people from straying away from their ascent into heavenly afterlife. These rules were enforced and highly constraining for women. Women were veiled, segregated, and limited to caring for the husband and children (Ferdows, 285). This watercolor is a representation of how women were handicapped by deprivation of basic human rights. It appears as if her hands are bound, signifying her being tied to wifely duties and being lonely otherwise. Her lower half is colorful, as she is the creator of life. While her upper half, her mind, is dark and abandoned. This could also represent the instillation of women being required to wear the hijab.

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Mixed Media with Watercolor on Aquabord, 40 x 60 in, 2014

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There is a balance between abstraction and apparent figuration in Shiva Ahmadi's work. She was influenced by Islamic artistic tradition in her interpretations of her contemporary subject matter (Rooney). Islamic traditions are noticed in Pipes through the use of patterning, with her utilization of color and detail reflecting her interest in Mughal miniature paintings. The scattering effect in this piece connects to the subject of chaos that war brings (Rooney). We also see her using hair, rice, and salt granules for the pattern of the background, which was a controlled process. This is mixed with the uncontrolled process of the watercolor. Her use of red splotches with the watercolor are suggestive of blood pools and splatter (Rooney).

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Working in the US, Ahmadi says she feels a disconnect from her Western audience (Mohammad, 75). She states that the United States is confined to idea that violence and war are central to Middle Eastern culture. Many of her works appear to perpetuate this idea, with the red splattered paint similar to blood, and depictions of weaponry. However, her depictions of faceless rulers and mindless subordinates that surround the ruler attempt to represent the causes behind violence, representing the artist's awareness and her stance of peace. The 2003 US invasion of Iraq triggered her illusionary aesthetic and anti-war themes that Ahmadi continues to employ today (Mohammad, 75). Al-Khidr is the Sufi tradition of the one who receieves direct enlightenment from God. This is her comment on rulers elevating themselves to a God-like or profit-of-God status.

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This piece visibly represents the active acts of violence accompanied by war. There is a sense of motion, vibrant sense of color, and features her signature use of splotches, relating to the fluidity of paint, as well as blood. Her watercolors were influenced by her feeling of homesickness, to which Ahmadi immersed herself in the Islamic traditions of art from her homeland (Mohammad, 75). Her use of patterning to cover entire surfaces and her inspiration of 2-dimensionality and aerial perspectives are derived from Islamic tradition. She was influenced by Persian miniatures but disliked the use of it in her own art. She worked on a much larger scale (Mohammad, 75). It is important to note that the faceless ruler is missing from the throne in this piece. Ahmadi is making the comment that when the chaos unfolds from the decisions of corrupt leaders, they retreat to comfortability and leave their people to confront the violence. The color and detail also showcases her interest in Mughal miniature paintings (Rooney). So while she was influenced by miniature works seen in historical Islamic art, she interpreted them in a Western way by making these paintings large.

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Watercolor and ink on Aquabord, 120 x 60, 2014 

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Ahmadi eventually chose to turn this piece into her famous "Lotus" animation. "Painting allows you to capture a moment," she says, "but animation gives you a sense of time no other medium can." This piece is Ahmadi's comment on having heads of government everywhere we look who make disconnected decisions that have consequences for the regular people of society (Mohammad, 75). Ahmadi leaves some aspects up to interpretation. The piping and industrial settings in the background represent global connections with the oil industry. The different washes of the ground, as seen in this piece, show different layered earthy surfaces. This leaves location up to interpretation as well (Ecker).

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According to Ahmadi, corruption is an integral link between East and West, fed through the oil industry and fueled by warfare and the increasingly fearful pressures applied to societies that are forced to support it. The relationship between the faceless ruler and the witless, dependent servant is a common theme in her work (Ecker). These two symbiotic forces are at work creating an unstable environment for society, full of uncertainty. The scattering effect in this work connects to the long history of patterning used as decoration in Islamic art, while functioning as a comment on the violence she witnesses in her homeland and the Middle East today.

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Watercolor and Ink on Aquabord, 120 x 40, 2014

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Ahmadi's work explores contemporary issues between traditional aesthetics and cultural pride of the Middle East, with violence and corruption of not only local societies, but to the whole world. She interprets these issues in a more contemporary manner. As a Middle Eastern artist working in the United States, she has expressed the disconnect and criticism she has received in this country (Mohammad, 75). The intricate pipes connect back to this historically Islamic style of covering spaces with decoration.