Al Jannah
Al Jannah, which means “Heaven” in Arabic, is a painting of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing where I have overlapped Iranian, Islamic and Chinese artistic and architectural elements. This piece is informed by my research on the ancient cultural and artistic exchange between the Middle East and China on the Silk Road. I painted the golden dome of a mosque, the wooden roof of a Chinese temple, and discussions of heaven written Arabic calligraphy, to name a few. For the background, I used light colors to loosely trace the lines formed by the grain in the wood I painted on to create a style reminiscent of the Chinese ink and wash paintings. I symbolized modern China emerging as a global superpower by painting a golden dragon emerging from the patterns that adorn the structure.
Acrylic on wood, 27x18 inches, 2020
ROYA AHMADI DISCUSSES HER PAINTING “AL JANNAH”
A brief analysis of the painting “Al Jannah” in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Farsi.
