Maryam Ayeen
Born 1985, Bojnord, Iran
Lives and works in Tehran, Iran

Abbas Shahsavar
Born 1983, Kermanshah, Iran
Lives and works in Tehran, Iran

Collaborators in both art and life, Maryam Ayeen and Abbas Shahsavar are the most conceptually stimulating artists working in the miniature painting tradition in Iran today. Their sumptuous illustrations of intimate scenes between couples, humorous observations of social mores and biting critiques of political violence infuse the revered historic medium with contemporary issues.

In Fall in dopamine, a dark mood lingers over a domestic scene. The protagonists’ faces are rendered with a subtle fuzziness contrasted by the clarity of the rest of the image, suggesting their desire to escape the confines of a claustrophobic apartment. Wanting to demonstrate their autonomy, the characters attempt to escape through mind-altering and illicit substances. Persian poetry, Sufi philosophy and the Zoroastrian faith document the use of wine, opium and mystical potions for the easing of troubles or communicating with otherworldly forces: the afflicted characters in Fall in dopamine could be viewed as continuing this long tradition of seeking refuge in alternative states of mind and knowledge in the esoteric ideas.