The world's fate 2018

Curator: Soltan Soltanli's "The World's Fate," painted in 2018, presents a rather unusual landscape rendered in acrylic. The trees look like neatly trimmed hedges balancing celestial bodies on their peaks. My initial feeling is a kind of playful, slightly melancholic wonder. Editor: Yes, the dreamlike quality is immediately striking. This isn’t just a whimsical composition; it makes you think about hierarchy and systems. Look at the central placement of the Earth itself – are we meant to read this as commentary on environmental responsibility or perhaps the hubris of humanity? Curator: I see the commentary running deeper. In placing these planets – and are those moons on the other two shrubs? – in such a structured garden, Soltanli brings order to what should be chaotic. The geometric shapes contrast against the free-flowing clouds; perhaps he's probing the tensions between control and nature, order and chaos. The entire system speaks to both utopian ideals and potential ecological disaster given the painting's title, I might add. Editor: It is all quite artificial. This tension between naturalistic imagery and stylized execution is key. But there's also something about the color palette – the bright blues and greens – that suggests optimism. I think it's as much a narrative about our relationship with hope, even in the face of, as you say, possible planetary doom. How do you see the technique informing that? Curator: The artist's decision to employ such naive stylistic techniques reinforces a discourse of cultural identity and geopolitical positionality. Soltanli asks his viewer to consider the intersection between representation and truth and ultimately confront the power systems which define social and cultural boundaries. Editor: I concur. We can see Soltanli presenting both critique and a space for consideration of cultural norms and political positions. Curator: Indeed. An interesting visual treatise from the artist to provoke further engagement with postcolonial, intersectional themes in today's current social and political landscape.