Today I wanted to talk about Maryam Hashemi an artist I discovered at her recent show at Other Café and Gallery where I had my show last summer. Maryam is from Theran and tells me that she grew up in a different type of society in Iran and discovered a new type of freedom of expression in the UK which, helped her develop her discourse surrounding issues of self representation and female subjectivity within the context of cultural re-adaptation. Her paintings are compelling and her works strike me as that of a person who has few inhibitions and many stories to tell. The heavily charged self-referential imagery floats between a fabricated custom made sensual world and religious iconography which leaves the viewer overwhelmed, looking for an anchor to fix some meaning. Her colourful works are surprisingly charged with emotion and charm which I find inspirational.