Hannaneh Barikani 

Tecnica: Persian miniature painting using Gouache, watercolor, and 23-karat gold on handmade paper.

Anno: 2025

Dimensione: 26.2cmx20.2cm

Descrizione:

A reinterpretation of The Tower through the visual language of Persian miniature painting. Remaining faithful to the card’s traditional symbolism, the work draws on a recurring motif found in Mesopotamian mythology and Iranian epic literature, most notably the Shahnameh: the downfall of the king and queen—symbols of the animus and anima—whose pride drives them to seek realms for which they are not yet spiritually prepared. The zigzagging flames descending from the sun and the shattered crown of the tower symbolize the descent of divine energy, revealing the limits of the unprepared seeker.

This theme is echoed in the outer frame through the imagery of serpents and ladders, drawn from the Indian and Iranian game of Snakes and Ladders. The seeker ascends the ladder, but whenever the necessary inner transformation has not yet taken place, the serpent casts them back down. Yet this collapse is not an end but a necessary stage of transformation, where destruction becomes the beginning of renewal.