Blog Post No. 159
Surreal and Hyperreal: Raoof Haghighi’s Artistic Journey from Shiraz to London
12/05/2023
Iranian-born British artist Raoof Haghighi is renowned for his portraiture and realism. With a self-taught background, he has exhibited internationally since 1995, including in Iran, the UK, US, Czech Republic, Spain, and Ireland.
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Join us as we delve into the captivating artistic journey of Raoof Haghighi, an Iranian-born British artist known for his mesmerizing portraits and surrealistic creations. In this exclusive interview, Raoof takes us back to his roots in Shiraz, Iran, where he was nurtured by an artistic family and developed an unyielding passion for painting. As a self-taught artist, he found solace and purpose in the strokes of his brush, with art becoming an integral part of his existence.
Discover how Raoof’s profound connection to art transformed his life, as he shares his unquenchable thirst for experimentation and exploration across various styles and techniques. From hyperrealistic portraits to thought-provoking surrealism, Raoof’s talent knows no boundaries. Uncover the inspirations behind his evocative creations and the intricate process of bringing his visions to life.
Furthermore, Raoof reflects on his experiences growing up in Iran, where societal challenges ignited his artistic spirit and led to a deep connection with the fight for women’s rights and freedom. Witness the profound impact of real-life events on his recent works, as he channels his creativity to shed light on the struggles and resilience of women in Iran.
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Intro 0:11
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Farnaz Fazaipour 0:44
Hello, and welcome to London Property, the home of super prime. I’m your host Farnaz Fazaipour. And today we have the pleasure of speaking with Raoof Haghighi, who is an incredible artist, and definitely want to watch, especially if you want to fill up your walls in your super prime homes.
Raoof Haghighi 1:02
Thanks for having me. My pleasure.
Farnaz Fazaipour 1:04
So Raoof, I’m going to just go straight into asking you to tell us more about yourself and your family and the environment that influenced your work. So I’m gonna pass it over to you for for all of that information. Tell us more about it.
Raoof Haghighi 1:20
Sure. I was born in Iran, the beautiful city of Shiraz, in a artistic family, and my dad is an artist. He is a pioneer actually, he does the traditional artwork and was about some of his work has been, I don’t know, if you’ve seen. He painted the ceilings of that. And I grew up with artistic family, all my siblings and everybody, they are into art. And this is basically how I grew up.
Farnaz Fazaipour 1:52
And I know that I’ve read in the brochure that you had for your recent exhibition that you held in Knightsbridge, that art to you is like breathing. So there was no training involved then.
Raoof Haghighi 2:08
Yeah, I’m a self taught artist and I have I have been painting as far as I remember. And it feels like it’s been always there for me, it might sound strange, but I never felt I achieved something. It felt like it’s been it’s been always there. And all the time I was painting at school, even. And from early age, I knew I want to be an artist, and it was so clear to me. And it really feels like a breathing to me and I can’t do anything else.
Farnaz Fazaipour 2:44
You’re very lucky. I wish I had something like that that I could just belong to. Was there a time where you actually conceptualised why you want to be an artist and what is an artist?
Raoof Haghighi 2:59
Is basically, it’s very simple. I love painting. And there is something about creating art and painting a it just for me is like meditation, is my life. I love the process of it. So many people, they see art when it’s done. But for artists, when you start something, to finish that journey, all those things you go through, I mean, technically or emotionally or whatever, really enjoyed that process. To me is as simple as that. Yes.
Farnaz Fazaipour 3:33
What would you say is the style that best describes your work because you have incredible talent to do quite a varied kind of end-product.
Raoof Haghighi 3:46
Again, as I was, as a young Raoof always interested in different styles of work, I remember, used to have this art book. And inside that book, it was so many different styles of paintings, and I wanted to do all of them. And I I love to try and trying different techniques, styles. And I love to experimenting with new ideas and stuff. But mainly I love to paint humans, I mean people and there is something about portrait I really enjoy and the environments around it. And also I was again since young age I was interesting in surrealism, which is recently I started doing more and more like these kind of drawings normally and I really enjoying it.
Farnaz Fazaipour 4:40
So surrealism is something that you have been doing more recently, but a lot of a lot of what you’ve done is done in pencil when it comes to the surrealism work. When do you decide the use of colour versus surrealism? Can you take us through that journey?
Raoof Haghighi 4:58
Yes, definitely. Yeah. Um, I love drawing, the freedom in drawing I have is just, this is something I really enjoy. Normally when you put colour on something is like a statement. This is like blue or whatever. But when it’s a black and white and drawing people they have, I feel is there’s more imagination when they look at them. They can imagine any colours in that, in black and white drawings. And again, I’m saying I love the freedom of drawings I can, whatever I imagined I can just create very quickly. And normally, when I do hyperrealism portraits, it takes a long time, maybe four or five months sometimes. And that’s why I chose drawings to say my back here in surrealism, that’s why.
Farnaz Fazaipour 5:56
Because I guess colour kind of limits you. Yeah. Whereas with the pencil, you’ve got the freedom to just go.
Raoof Haghighi 6:02
Definitely. And also, the result is quicker. Normally, I do these drawings around one or two days, sometimes few hours. And it happens when I love drawing. Sometimes, later on, I make it in colour. But I love to do surrealism with pencil drawings, basically.
Farnaz Fazaipour 6:25
We should have asked you to bring your Doodle Book with you.
Raoof Haghighi 6:27
Yeah, definitely.
Farnaz Fazaipour 6:30
The inspiration for surrealism must come from, like a whole concept that you’re trying to put on paper.
Raoof Haghighi 6:36
That’s true.
Farnaz Fazaipour 6:37
So tell me how that’s formulate itself? Or does it just suddenly come from nowhere?
Raoof Haghighi 6:42
It it varies really, I mean, I, I do lots of sketches. I do lots of doodling and sometimes they come through my sketches. And sometimes it just comes immediately. And again. It happens sometimes I start drawing something and I have no idea what it is till it finishes. This, this process excites me. I mean, even sometimes I get shocked about it. So but I get inspiration from everything, watching TV, watching people, everything happens around me, my life and everything. Yeah, that comes from, I get inspiration from everything, basically.
Farnaz Fazaipour 7:23
And you actually grew up in Iran, right? You were educated there, you went to university there.
Raoof Haghighi 7:28
I didn’t go to university. In that time, when I was in Shiraz, there was no Art University in Shiraz. So I the closest one, the architecture, I studied architecture high school for two years. And then I studied graphic design, which these two were very close to painting. But again, all the time I was painting. And then when I graduated, I just decided I need to do my own practice. So that’s how I did some of my painting. And how I just gain my techniques, basically.
Farnaz Fazaipour 8:06
And when did painting become a job?
Raoof Haghighi 8:10
At a very young age, actually, I started teaching art at age 18. And also, around 17, I started playing guitar as well. So I used to teach guitar and art at the same time. So this is was actually how it started.
Farnaz Fazaipour 8:32
And did you feel that living in the environment that you had to live in with the difficulties that Iran was going through all the changes, influenced your work?
Raoof Haghighi 8:40
Definitely. I mean, this is something I found out everywhere I live, it does affect on my work. Probably most of the artists are like that. But it was a bit difficult because I remember I couldn’t exhibit so many of my work because of the how it was. And but when you have restriction, you find a way to find a way to actually create something and tell the people what you want to say.
Farnaz Fazaipour 9:12
Restriction actually makes people more artistic. Because I remember when I went to Cuba and everybody’s musical talents, and you sort of feel like, you know, if there’s nothing else, you’ve got that. So with with with that in mind, your work now actually has a lot of female you know, controversial female figures when it comes to you know, the woman life freedom movement in Iran. Did that influence your recent work?
Raoof Haghighi 9:47
Definitely. I mean, I was watching news on everything. And it happens very naturally. I didn’t force myself to, I mean, it just happened. I have to draw something. And, yeah, this is a very sensitive subject. And I love to work around that, basically. Yes.
Farnaz Fazaipour 10:09
So when something’s on your mind and occupying what you’re thinking, then it just comes out in your art.
Raoof Haghighi 10:14
Yeah, definitely, it has to feels right as well. Yes. And sometimes when I draw something, I’m not sure if I want to share it. But at the same time I realised this is this is me, I have to actually express myself somehow.
Farnaz Fazaipour 10:31
Now, you’ve won many awards, since you’ve been in the UK. And a number of these awards have been for portraits, and the National Portrait Gallery. So talk to us a little bit about the ones that you’re most proud of, and, you know, for you was, you know, this is it, I’ve really achieved what I’m trying to achieve.
Speaker 2 10:52
Well, actually, I’ve been lucky to be selected for the BP Portrait Award three times, which is a bit like tough to get in. And also in 2011, I become Artist of the year, from Artists and illustrators magazine UK, number one magazine, that was really nice to just come out of Iran and win that prize for me. Literally put me on a map, which helps me to be able to actually create more. And the thing I’m proud of, I think, I won the gold memoriam both from the miniature Society of royal miniature society. And, yeah, I’m proud of that, basically.
Farnaz Fazaipour 11:45
So an artist like you who’s actually displayed their portraits in the National Portrait Gallery. It’s, it’s, it’s something fantastic to be able to get a bit of your art onto our walls, you know, of our own portraits of our loved ones and families. How did that come about? Is that a result of being exhibited there that you now do portraits by commission?
Raoof Haghighi 12:11
Yes, actually, that really helped. And recently, actually started doing some commissioned portraits. And I realised I really enjoyed that. Because, of course, normally, I think artists, they like to do their own stuff. But I don’t see it that way. I see. When I get commissions, I see it as a project. And I really enjoy doing that. Yeah. But all of these competitions I have won, it really helped me to like get some commissions as well. Yeah.
Farnaz Fazaipour 12:41
So actually doing commission work also enables you to connect with other people in your art rather than doing it in in solitude.
Raoof Haghighi 12:51
That’s true, that’s true. And I actually feel every time I paint something, even from a photo, whatever, it the result is something very different special. You can’t compare it to the photo, because it’s so different. And I always feel there is part of me in in those portraits as well.
Farnaz Fazaipour 13:16
So how does that process start when someone wants to do portraiture with you? So is it is it different depending on who you were that or, as you say, sometimes it’s from photographs, sometimes I assume is from a sitting but talk me through that. So if somebody wanted to commission you to do that, what what is the process that they have to go through?
Raoof Haghighi 13:34
It’s really varies. Sometimes people send me a photo, they say We want these photos to be painted, because they love that photo. There is a memory of them. I mean, that particular one, of course, I have to tell them which photo is good for paintings, because lighting should be right and details stuff. And other times I go like, see them and speak to them, I do some sketches and take some photographs. And I just use them as reference and I create the portrait.
Farnaz Fazaipour 14:05
And how long does that take?
Raoof Haghighi 14:06
Again, depends, of the for example, how many people are and the details, backgrounds. Normally probably somewhere around four weeks to three months.
Farnaz Fazaipour 14:19
Fantastic. So basically, we are very happy to have you on the show. And we will be following you very closely. Your art is fantastic. Your work is fantastic. When I saw the portraits. When I first saw them, I could actually almost couldn’t believe that they weren’t photographs. They’re so brilliant.
Raoof Haghighi 14:36
Thanks so much for having me on. It was a great conversation. Thanks for everything.
Farnaz Fazaipour 14:40
Thank you. Thank you for coming on the show. So if you’d like to connect with Raoof or in fact want to have your whole family’s portraits done, then please do drop us a line and we will ensure to make that happen.
Outro 14:54
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