Khadim ali biography king

Born 1978 Quetta, Pakistan
Lives and works in Sydney, Australia

After growing up in Pakistan as a refugee, Afghan artist Khadim Ali was trained in classical miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore and in mural painting and calligraphy in Tehran.

Ali’s family is from Bamiyan (Hazarajat region) where in 2001 the colossal sixth-century Buddha statues were destroyed. The Shahnameh (Book of Kings) was read to Ali by his grandfather and its illustrations were his first lessons in art history.

Khadim ali biography king

Ironically, its hero Rostam became appropriated by the Taliban. In Ali’s series of miniatures in the style of Indian Mogul painting, begun in 2007, he explores and updates the motifs of the poem. Rostam turns into a horned demon, with a long beard reminiscent of those worn by Taliban fighters.

Rich in traditional and modern motifs of Eastern and Western art-historical references, Ali’s paintings tell stories about loss (of his own cultural heri