This Series called “Virgins in Heaven“ is inspired by stories I was recited to during my childhood. My father had an old aunt, named Fatemeh. Aunt Fatemeh was pretty, very social, kind and religious. Once a month, she used to land in our house, without any invitation or prior notice, to spend 3-4 days with us. And we welcomed her warmly. We had a sign code that said “ Aunt Fatemeh, the parachuter just landed “ to alert the rest of the family about her arrival. Even though she was an in-law relative, our mom really loved her because, as our mom would say, she was a very clean lady and always brought positive energy.

We, the kids, loved her as well. She was a great storyteller. She prayed five times a day and after each one she would asked us if we would like to listen to a new story? Our answer was always: “Yes“

Then she would tell us stories from the Holy Quran. She loved to hold our hands and make sure we were sitting down, calm and relaxed. Occasionally,  she would make a direct eye contact with us to gauge if we were still interested in hearing the rest of the story.

I was fascinated with the images of “Heaven” she portrayed for us, with the river of honey, the nude gorgeous virgin angels, and the joy the male adults were filled with, being around the angels. This afterlife, she told us was waiting for the “good people” to enjoy to infinity in a beautiful heaven with no limits or boundaries.

Fortunately, she never tried to force us into praying. She was only happy to have us around herself so she could tell us her stories.

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About 3 years ago, I made a series of paintings called swimming in heaven to illustrate aunt Fatemeh’s stories and to picture what I had heard from her. That series interested, to my surprise, my regular art collectors and they sold out very quick.

This series, “Virgins in Heaven” represents a continuation of Swimming in Heaven. Deep down, it tries to question the wisdom of sacrificing the current life we have on Earth, for the future life that may never come.

This series is also inspired by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

He was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. He volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. In 1933, his work was branded as "degenerate" by the Nazis and in 1937, over 600 of his works were sold or destroyed. In 1938, he committed suicide by gunshot.

And also inspired by Salvador Dali .

He was born in Figueres, Catalonia, Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most recognizable Surrealist paintings. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, at times in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.

Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behavior. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork