黑料不打烊

Davood Koochaki began to seriously pursue drawing at the age of sixty. Having retired from his job as an auto mechanic, he was encouraged by his son-in-law, a professional artist, to explore his budding interest in art. Koochaki鈥檚 hobby quickly evolved into a fullblown artistic practice, and his works, drawn with graphite and colored pencil, became steadily bolder and more complex. Human-like figures and mysterious creatures developed from his initial marks on paper, and grew in both scale and intensity.

Koochaki works intuitively, allowing the compositions to evolve without a formal plan. According to the artist, 鈥淚 try to draw beautifully, but this is the way it comes out. Maybe it has to do with my difficult past. I begin to draw a few lines, look at them, and then I see a figure coming that I can draw.鈥� Despite the fluidity of form and

sex among his figures, they all seem to respect Iran鈥檚 dress code for women and are covered by a hijab, chador, or burka. These elements of concealment are not completely successful and certain elements, primarily the male anatomy, often peak through revealing their true nature.

This visual game of hide-and-seek, cloak-and-dagger, or perhaps more appropriately show-and-tell is an essential element of Koochaki鈥檚 work. His figures are shrouded in dark layers of graphite. Through his drawings, Koochaki navigates the public and the private, striking a balance between what to hide and what to highlight, rendered in a visual language that is completely his own.