We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Souren Mousavi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Souren, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

In 2010, whilst living in the UK, I sadly broke my spine in a fall which stopped me from painting for over two years. Before the accident I had begun to create a series called Modern Heritage – A Feminist Expression of Persian Culture. When I returned to complete the series, I did so in immense pain, but it was a labor of love in every sense.

To understand the impact of being misunderstood and mischaracterized let me first tell you a little about this series.

My primary sources of inspiration were the poetic works of two Persian writers. One was Hafez whose poetry transcends the confines of traditional religion. The second is popularly known in the English-speaking world as Rumi. He has been described as the “most popular poet in America” and the “best selling poet in the US”.

In many of the paintings I made use of Nas’taliq – Persian calligraphy – to add both artistic strength and deliberate storylines to the works.

It was and still is a series I am immensely proud of. I created pieces that reconnected with elements of cultural history at several levels: artistic, creative, scientific, and historic. Many of the titles underline the theme – In Consideration of Love, Wrapped in Love and Love is the Souls Life – and much of the calligraphy was based on this essential human emotion.

The series was exhibited at an international art fair in New York – my first such event in the US. It should have been an exciting and rewarding experience. Sadly, the one thing I distinctly remember from the exhibition was an unexpected verbal attack upon my work and on myself. I can still feel the anger and animosity of this one person who took note of my Persian heritage and concluded that the calligraphy must be saying something negative about his homeland. He asked no questions, took no time to read about the meanings of the individual pieces and expressly invited me to leave the US and never come back whilst adding some specific expletives about my work and my character.

For me it was a gross misunderstanding of both my art and my beliefs. I learned a hard lesson through that one event. Sometimes people will judge you as guilty and deny you any chance of proving innocence and when that happens there is nothing you can do about it except move on. My long-time business partner has an expression which I try to keep in mind. Criticism should only ever be as important to you as is the person from whom you receive it. Wherever possible I let my art speak on my behalf and I hope that my audience will listen.

Souren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a Brirtish award winning, professionally qualified artist specialising in Feminist Expressionism. Having graduated in Fine Art and undertaken Post Graduate studies in graphic design, I underwent further professional training in London. My work with colors and inks have gained plaudits around the world and I am known for having developed my own specialized color methodologies that make my works unique.

I was born in Persia, now Iran, and I had parents of mixed culture and religions, both very well educated and open minded. In 1979 the Islamic revolution had a massive impact on everyone’s life, especially my family. My dad was killed by the regime before I was 10 years old, and my life was changed forever. I had to stand side by side with my mother and fight for our rights. We had to protect ourselves from both the Iraqis and the Iranian authorities.

Since those early life events I have always been described as a warrior. In my student years I battled oppression and censorship taking on an authoritarian regime that endangered my life on more than one occasion. Because of my strong feminist views and my determination to resist persecution I was forced to flee my homeland and pursue my dreams elsewhere.

I moved to the UK where, after a period of recovery and rehabilitation, I began to develop my career as a professional artist. Initially I had exhibitions in cities like London and Oxford, but I very quickly started to travel across Europe and then the Far East. It always thrilled me that my art was able to touch the souls of so many nations and so many cultures.

In 2015 I moved to the US to become a resident artist here in Miami. My art, and photographic work, continues to be featured and sold around the world, but over the years the US has become my home. I have embraced the lifestyle and ideals of the American people with my work appearing on office walls and private homes from California to New York, from Indiana to Texas and, of course, here in the state of Florida.

I also devote some of my time to being an art teacher/therapist and I am an International Art Ambassador for businesses in Europe and the US. I am a renowned make-over and photographic artist and, most importantly of all, I have been able to develop specialized programmes in yoga art therapy, delivering them to both private and commercial clients as well as supporting young offenders and recovering addicts. I am proud to be able to say that my self-developed wellness programmes have already helped 100’s of troubled and challenged young women.

I strongly believe in the sentiments of the American Educator, Maxine Greene. Art cannot change the world, but it can change people, who might then change the world. I hope my own contributions will play their part.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As a child I always loved to sit down and paint. It was both a form of escape from the reality of war and oppression and a means to express feelings and emotions that were not always easy to put into words. The love of being able to paint grew in me every day until it became part of my soul.

Understandably art is everything to me and probably the most rewarding aspect is the freedom it gives for self-expression. During some of the darkest times in my life it was both a sanctuary and a therapy. It is and always has been the primary means of communication for me with the rest of the world. It allows me to express myself emotionally, politically, aesthetically, and professionally.

Art represents freedom in every sense. The expression ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ has been attributed to Confucius, Barnard, and Ibsen. I like to think that Confucius used some similar expression, but I suspect the concept pre-dates him by 1000’s of years. Early cave art underwrites the importance of imagery as a means of storytelling and my art is meant to do just that. I love the idea that my work reaches out and touches almost everyone and that everyone can experience a different reaction, receive a unique story, and hear at least 1000 words, in their own linguistic style.

Art is my universal language, destined to discover and display every hidden and untold emotion and it allows me to speak to the world.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

From the age of 18 I worked and studied at the same time and made my own choices on how to fight for my rights and those of my family and others in Iran – rights which we had all lost. I decided to express all my emotion by studying Fine Art.

At University I became one of the strongest campaigners for women’s rights and in my 3rd year of university I started to work with the underground resistance movement along with some of my other friends. I designed flyers, drew political caricatures and cartoons, and in the privacy of my own home, painted the female form as I saw it. This was probably the start of my using art as a force for good, for freedom, equality and for the advancement of women in a country where we were, and still are, second class citizens.

I got arrested and punished because of my activities. My art works and paintings were judged pornographic and for this and my political activities I was sentenced to be lashed and was destined serve years in prison. Luckily my family and friends helped me escape.

Torture, the trauma of prison and the escape had all taken its toll both physically and mentally. For many such an experience would have been so destructive as to have destroyed their love for life and their passion for art. However, I used my art as a means of recovery. It acted both as a therapy and a means of self-renewal and now it is the mainstay of my life. Much of my work reflects not only my journey to freedom, but my passion for women’s rights and my conviction that the human spirit cannot, indeed must not, be repressed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sourenmousavi.co.uk
• Instagram: @sourenmousavi
• Facebook: S Mousavi Art
• Linkedin: @sourenMousavi
• Twitter: @sourenmousavi

Image Credits
“ART Living for Freedom “1st book published in 2019 Expressive drawing of Miami Design district self-portraits self-portraits Interviewed at art basil – Spectrum Miami Watercolor & Gold Painting -Name: Humanism – year 2020 Watercolor & Gold Painting- Name: Sipping Youthfulness