Shiva Ahmadi

Camels, 2006
Watercolor on canvas

My name is Shiva Ahmadi. I was born in Tehran, Iran. I paint. My paintings kind of get back to my own experiences as a child who grew up in revolution and war. So basically my paintings are very political. In my paintings I’m talking about my personal life, and also about the political issues that right now are going on in the world. At the same time, I always say, and I think that politics and immigration define my life very much. I think I bring those issues into my paintings. The medium I use is watercolor, I draw, I make sculpture, I do any kind of artwork that makes me communicate my ideas with my audience.

I paint because as a child growing up in that society, and in that country, going through revolution and war, I was art making, painting, sculpting, anything, was the only way I could communicate. That was the only thing that made me go on. I don’t remember when I started painting or making art, I just knew that it was there and I knew that I had to do it, that was the only thing that helped me go through those years.

What I do right now are, as I said before, just painting and drawing, the images, objects, the memories, experiences that I’ve had. I just try to bring all those signs and symbols, or stories, or stuff that I actually live with in my paintings. They are very political, they talk about immigration, they talk about exile, they talk about politics, they talk about women.