As part of the persecuted Hazara community, Khadim Ali’s family fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan during Taliban rule (1996–2001). He studied miniature painting in Lahore before migrating to Australia in 2010. Themes of war and otherness have been central to his work. The ‘Rustam-e-pardar (Rustam with wings)’ series refers to the Taliban’s identification with Rustam, the Persian hero from the Shah-nameh (The Book of Kings), used to reinforce their image of omnipresent vigilance.