Untitled 4

Shiva Ahmadi

2014 · Graphite and pencil on Arches paper · Islamic Art

Ahmadi’s sparing use of color in this drawing makes it all the more compelling. The elephants, rendered in pencil, seem to gravitate around an ambiguous red blotch that resembles a masked face. Visually, we are drawn to the human figure, whose face is also obscured with red marks. Ahmadi does not make these connections overt, but rather constructs a scene full of uncertainty and threat: elephants bound by rope, floating amidst contemporary warfare.

Artist

Shiva Ahmadi

Date

2014

Medium

Graphite and pencil on Arches paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, 2011 and 2012 NoRuz at The Met Benefit, 2014