Iran: Shahnameh's mythical hero Rustam battles COVID demons on painted masks

M/S Painted face masks, Tehran
C/U Painted face masks
M/S Artist Yazdan Saadi wearing mask
C/U Artist wearing mask
W/S Artist painting
C/U Artist painting
M/S Artist painting
C/U Artist painting
C/U Owl
M/S Artist painting
C/U Painted face mask
SOT, Yazdan Saadi, Graphic designer (Farsi): "Before the coronavirus outbreak I used to go to cafes and do small paintings. After the panic, I was stuck in the atelier, as if I was jailed in a prison cell. There was a pressure on me, and I had to use a mask to go shopping. And the new incident made me find a release in painting masks. I thought I had to fight against it. So I repainted my previous paintings I had done for newspapers, like Tehran Times, Iran, etc. in the form of (legendary hero in Persian mythology) Rustam's fight against the demon of corona."
C/U Owl *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Yazdan Saadi, Graphic designer (Farsi): "Each time, I heard the news updates on this virus, and its mutations, [the character] of corona demon would also mutate. It changed into a dragon, a multi-headed snake, even Rustam himself or a demonic woman (the witch in the story of Seven Labours). Corona has changed all parts of this collection, but Rustam has remained the same. But his position changes, he is either on the horse or on foot; he is either using bow and arrow or bludgeon. His position changes. With corona however, the essence of the demon changes."
C/U Artist painting
SOT, Yazdan Saadi, Graphic designer (Farsi): "This collection is not to be sold. The collection is small. I think my social responsibility and the fact that people would be able to use them made me work on the mask."
M/S Artist painting *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Yazdan Saadi, Graphic designer (Farsi): "Since what I did was widely reflected in media, it became very effective. I have received a lot of messages, with people saying they want to use these masks. And I said that they are artistic works and cannot be used, unless they are printed. I think it was so influential. I even found another painting on Hamshahri Newspaper which looked like my own, painted by a child. It means that my work is known by people. This also creates a good deal of motivation to wear masks."
C/U Artist wearing mask *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Yazdan Saadi, Graphic designer (Farsi): "Since this collection was welcomed by a lot of people, an American gallery suggested I would send my works to them in order for them to be displayed immediately after the reopening. I sent all I had and thought it will not be necessary to continue it. I was on a new collection. But the reception was so huge that I am restarting to work on a new, small collection."
W/S Artist painting
SCRIPT
Tehrani graphic designer Yazdan Saadi has been making headlines in Iran after depicting the current struggle against the COVID-19 virus on face masks, where a mythical Iranian hero of Shahnameh "The Book of Kings", Rustam, is painted fighting the coronavirus demons.
As seen on Saturday, masks with different backgrounds and settings inspired by Shahnameh's Seven Labours portray the hero fighting the "corona" monster in its various mutated forms, as Yazdan Saadi continues his work at his atelier in the Iranian capital alongside his pet owl.
"Each time, I heard the news updates on this virus, and its mutations, [the character] of corona demon would also mutate. It changed into a dragon, a multi-headed snake, even Rustam himself or a demonic woman," said Saadi who added the masks were so well-received they were to be displayed in a gallery in the United States.
The masks were only painted to raise awareness of COVID crisis and were not to be sold.