Mehdi Ghadyanloo recently installed his latest commissioned piece, this time for the World Economic Forum's annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. The Iranian artist, who has painted over 100 surrealist murals in Teheran, constructed an image that explores the universal human concepts of fear, hope, and loss. For this latest mural, Finding Hope, he depicts a young girl holding up a red balloon contrasting this universally positive, joyful image of a child at play with a needle on the other side of the image. Creating a sense of tension, he hopes the captivating image will trigger those attending the conference to think on and do something about the future of the world that we're leaving to our children.
Seamlessly blending within the building's architecture, borrowing his appraised methods of making his images essential part of the building, Ghadyanloo painted this piece in his studio with a help of a small team in just under one month. Eager to use the opportunity to get the attention of the world's most powerful and influential individuals, he used his language that is rich with emotions and international symbols to create a beautiful image which will hopefully intrigue further conversation and reflecting.
When asked about the inspiration for the piece and the idea behind the title, the artist told us "I'm inspired by the world's economic anxiety and this suspended feeling of the moment right before the storm. With this contemporary walls issue, the bans, war business, the huge market for the troops and the high budgets countries are spending on the war in the Middle East and all around the world. I'm inspired by those innocent children, especially girls which suffer even more facing gender inequality as victims of our ignorance, and with my concern about next generation in my own country - they need a lot of hope in this time."––Sasha Bogojev
