Art can narrate the reality, or the truth. There is a poetic side of art that you cannot rely on as a historical document, but it is the poetic side that can be motivating and provide a subtle, less political way of questioning a situation.

Tragic situations such as war, poverty, or famine, etc., regardless of the consequences and impacts, are special situations to get to know the human nature. Repetition of such crisis creates a new collective memory for mankind. Which can define concepts and forms with a different interpretation in the audiences’ minds.

These works were created in peace before the war in Ukraine, however, now after the war and destruction, these works can be interpreted differently. My connection to the geography and the impact of recent crisis in my personal life can also create a different perspective for audience. This is how I think art can take a separate path in the history apart from the artist. The titles of the works are the same as I chose, before the war, therefore, the new perception of the works due to the recent events in Ukraine and presenting them in a different context and media (Because of no physical access to the original works) can be even more tangible and comprehensible. It doesn't seem that these works were created before the war, and it seems that they were done exactly after the war with the impact of the recent crisis in Ukraine.

My home country, where I was born and raised, the impact of migration and living in a new geography, define me today. And it reflects in my artistic practice when all the journey I have gone through sets within my inner self.

Note: Mahdi Mahdian’s mixed media actual drawings were supposed to be shipped from Ukraine to Boston. He could flee from Ukraine, but all his works are stuck in his studio and what has happened to them is uncertain. So, he decided to create video of the pictures them burning along with the sounds of war which he gathered from video documents from Ukraine.