Khadim Ali belongs to the Hazara community, which suffered persecution under the first period of Taliban rule (1996–2001). Ali’s family moved from Afghanistan to Pakistan, where Ali studied miniature painting in Lahore before migrating to Australia in 2010. Themes of war and otherness have been a central in his work. The ‘Rustam-e-pardar (Rustam with wings)’ series refers to the Taliban’s identification with Rustam – the Persian hero from the tenth-century epic poem Shah-nameh (The Book of Kings) – used to reinforce their image of omnipresent vigilance. ‘The Arrivals’ series addresses the highly politicised plight of people seeking asylum, particularly from Ali’s perspective in Australia at the time. Here, refugees are depicted to indicate the way they are perceived: a mass of bodies, denied their individual stories and overlaid with a threatening, even demonic appearance.