In a new series entitled “Savior” and following up his Militarism project, Amir-Hossein Zanjani is seeking an alternative history that is now recounted by the defeated. In all his works, he assumes an ironic, critical approach to war and militarism. Exploring the significant works in art history of the likes of Delacroix and Monet, Amir-Hossein attempts to recreate the events of his time by appropriating those images—albeit with a pop art approach, yet with a rather limited pallet. Making a collage of documented images of violence and war and using the Star Wars icons, Zanjani’s works cast doubt on the promise of democracy and liberty with the use of oppression and killing. If the stormtroopers were created as contemporary mythical figures to remind humans, in the dark century of world wars, of the reality of good and evil and the responsibilities of human, they now appear as empty yet claimant.

The series marks the first time that Zanjani has taken the characters of his paintings out of the two-dimensional frame and embodied them. By putting the stormtroopers’ gear on statues of ancient Roman figures and selecting parodistic titles, he emphasizes the forged saviors’ inability to redeem humanity. Amir-Hossein’s work is a representation of the relationship of power vis-à-vis the shipwrecked who may sink at any moment. In an eerie atmosphere, he calls hope into question, offering a fragmented account of an imminent apocalypse.