Laila Tara H

As an Anglo-born Iranian, Laila Tara H. deconstructs the aesthetic framework of the Persian miniature tradition, hybridising it with that of its European counterparts to form her own visual language, paying particular attention to the examples where these traditions met and mixed. Her works unpack her lived experiences often in relation to gender roles and familial structures, connecting to the similarities and differences between the different cultures she has experienced.

Iran and Europe, but particularly England have not existed in a vacuum but are in many ways inextricably linked – not least politically. Despite having distinct visual and cultural traditions the two have affected one another with their gaze. Past and present notions of female desirability have often played a part in Tara H’s abstracted presentations of body parts, noses, faces, considering the effects that historical and present European and Iranian interactions have had on one another and by extension, on herself.