by Zahra Zeinali

THE IMAGINARY COUNTRY OF ZAHRA ZEINALI “Over time Zahra Zeinali develops her universe, which evolves slowly according to the Unconscious, a vast underground life, stirring, agitated, that a hypersensitive artist such as Zahra does not seek to control. Autobiographical elements emerge through the dreamlike nature of his painting. Naturally gifted for drawing, after nine years spent in France, her work speaks to us with a more distanced tone of her experience as an Iranian immigrant, fleeing the restrictions of her country, in the hope of tasting French freedom. Innocence prey to a hostile environment, innocence symbolized by dolls with candid eyes, but abused, broken, such is apparently the major theme of his canvases, which, by progressive shifts, moves towards a less dark, more playful, close to Alice in Wonderland, legendary heroine confronted with strangeness and the angel of the bizarre. Zahra follows in her footsteps, in a world in perpetual transformation. Masks, by their very nature, conceal cruel truths, slightly disturbing clowns approach everyday life in roundabout ways, little girls whisper secrets to each other in dark corners. As with Alice, wolves, foxes, exotic birds, all sorts of animals appear, adding a singular note to the enigma of existence. Passionate about the art of photography, which she studied in Paris, Zahra sometimes takes photos in anticipation of the painting in progress. Hence the skilful disorder of the bold, unusual, very free layouts of his compositions. It is not without deep reasons that the painter feels in affinity with the Portuguese Paula Rego, her bitterness, her own universe of broken dolls, her admirable neo-classical technique which in no way refrains from sneering and sarcasm. Both express their feelings, sometimes painful, sometimes humorous, but served by the beauty of the design and the nobility of the material. » Xavier BUREAU, November 2022