Hana Louise Shahnavaz is a British-Iranian painter best known for her vibrant large-scale paintings, which are characterised by an abundance of exquisite detail. The daughter of her Iranian father and her British mother, she was raised in the English countryside with horses, spending most of her holidays in Iran surrounded by family, food, music, dance and laughter.
Read her story through her words:
I have always felt so 'Iranian'. It's something in my blood, an energy - an ancestral footprint embedded in my DNA. Iran has always existed in my heart and it just feels like 'home'.
My spirit understands it and every cell in my body feels it. I have been brought up in a very Persian household. My father only spoke Farsi to me since I was born, and our home was always filled with Persian music, books, art, food and stories.
I connected deeper with my Iranian identity during my Persian Studies BA at SOAS, University of London. Here I discovered a passion for traditional Persian music and literature and then moved to Iran to continue music. I ended up living in Tehran for 6 years where I discovered a love for painting.
I then moved back to London to study a Masters degree at the Prince's School of Traditional Art, where I specialised in traditional Persian Miniature painting. Since then I have been carving out a career as an Iranian artist, that has connected my soul so much deeper to my Iranian roots and identity.
Three things about my culture that make me a proud Iranian woman are: a deep joy, love and thirst for life that runs through Iranian blood. From this innate love of life, Iranian culture has the most amazing art, music, food, literature, and so on. It's the 'aliveness' in Iranian culture that I love.
Secondly, I'm proud of Iranian women and how they are lionesses at heart. This has been the case throughout Iranian history and it's incredible to still see it now. Throughout all the hardships Iran has been through, Iranian women remain lionesses. It's inspiring for me to witness this quality in Iranian women, and makes me proud to be one.
Lastly, I am proud of the art produced from artists living in Iran and working under such hard censorship. It is a testament to not only the incredible talent that comes out of that land but also to the resilience and unwavering determination of the creatives who constantly amaze and inspire me with what they produce under such a regime.
One of the most inspiring Iranian women for me must be the writer Shahrnush Parsipur. I fell in love with her novels during university and her books have been my companions throughout the years since. I have gained such strength from the female voice that runs through her characters, and she is an inspiration being an Iranian woman who has continued her craft and not quietened her voice through the persecutions she has endured due to her writing.
She gives power to the Divine Feminine, and allows this voice to be alive and strong through the beautiful writing that she gifts the world.
Everything I have learned in my art has come from Iran. It belongs to Iran, to the culture and history of the people. I hope the wider world can separate the awful things the regime has brought to this country and see that is not what Iranian people are about. It does not define us. We are from a land of beauty, love, creativity, strength, gentleness, power and intellect.
We are from a land full of stories and wisdom. It is possible to still enjoy and take hold of these things and claim them as part of us, Iranians. No regime can steal that. The Iranian spirit can't be caged. I am extremely lucky and privileged to be able to work with the arts outside of Iran and I hope that the women in Iran continue to follow their dreams, throughout all the obstacles thrown at them. Whatever they produce will be so much more incredible because they are working within such constraints. Their hands are tied in a sense, but their hearts are free so they always amaze me at how they manage to bypass these confinements and create the most amazing art.
Ultimately, the artform I practice is rooted in Iran. Greatness comes from that land. It is a vibration. It is deeply embedded within the soil. Keep fighting, keep creating, keep dreaming. Remember, the Iranian woman is at the core a lioness. I hope my art can continue to hold some dialogue for the voice of Iranian women and I will continue to paint whilst tapping into the lioness energy of my ancestors.
