Whirling Kaleidoscope of Color

Hadieh Shafie finds inspiration in the Sufi whirling dervishes,  Islamic ascetics who whirl around in a dizzying attempt to get closer to Allah. Google “Whirling Dervish” and select “images” to get a page full of colorful, spinning costumes.

20871 Pages
2012
Hadieh Shafie
Ink/ acrylic and Paper with printed & hand written Farsi Text Esheghe
“Love”
48″ x 48″ x 3.5″

Shafie titles her pieces according to the number of tiny strips of paper that are tightly scrolled and set into the frame. Inside the scrolls are written one word:  “Eshghe”, or “Love” in the Farsi language.

21680 Pages Detail
2011
Hadieh Shafie
Ink/ acrylic and Paper with printed & hand written Farsi Text Esheghe
“Love”
48″ x 48″ x 3.5″ / 121.92 x 121.9 x 9 cm

She is very interested in process-oriented work, with repetition and patterns that find their roots in traditional Iranian art. As she performs the methodical, repetitious work, she loses herself in a meditation of memories and thoughts and inspirations.

Image from Morton Fine Art

Some weeks ago, looking at my friend’s pictures from Turkey, we noted that the flowing brushwork Arabic lettering is like an art form in itself.  Seeing it here on Hafie’s pieces, I love the way it forms patterns as it scrolls around her wheels of color.  She has wonderful, huge images on her website that display the details and colors beautifully:  hadiehshafie.com