What Remains - Ahlam Ahmadi

Soft pastel, oil pastel and graphite on paper
 
What Remains is the first drawing series in my ongoing Lion and Sun project, exploring identity politics, migration, and belonging.
I moved to the UK six years ago, leaving behind my nine-year-old brother in Kuwait where my family had migrated from Iran post-revolution and where I was raised. On a recent visit, I saw my brother, now 16, and realised how much I had missed his growth. This trip felt different; I saw him not just as my
younger brother but as an adolescent shaping his identity. I sought to capture him in this moment sitting in his room, gazing sideways with a mix of shyness and confidence, the former Iranian flag behind him. This series is my first attempt at working on a larger paper scale, using soft
pastel for both sketching and as the main medium, allowing me to experiment with looser mark-making.