The Grim Beauty of Afarin Sajedi's Portraits | Monday Insta Illustrator

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI (@afarinsajedi) on May 13, 2015 at 11:22am PDT

Whimsy and horror collide in Iranian artist Afarin Sajedi’s creative and unusual work. The paintings and drawings are mostly of women, taking on different faces, thrust into various roles, merging into animals, objects, and each other in a gruesome but beautiful way. Her subjects are unapologetically shown in joy, in discomfort, and in physical pain, viscerally shining a light onto the universal turmoil and complexity of human experience. They are regal while mutilated; powerful while flawed, and the surrealism of the images does not at all belie the intense humanity of the figures she depicts.

Check out Afarin Sajedi's work below:

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI  (@afarinsajedi) on Jun 27, 2015 at 12:22am PDT

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI  (@afarinsajedi) on May 13, 2015 at 11:18am PDT

(Like a King ) #ChefOffer#afarinsajedi#painting#dorothycircusegallery #Italy#Rome#2013

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI  (@afarinsajedi) on Aug 29, 2014 at 8:14am PDT

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI  (@afarinsajedi) on Oct 11, 2013 at 5:27pm PDT

A photo posted by AFARIN SAJEDI  (@afarinsajedi) on Oct 9, 2013 at 4:30pm PDT

See more of Afarin Sajedi's work on Instagram.

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