After review of works by 16000 nominees, 26 artists will have their work reviewed by the Rise Art Prize judging panel, which features renowned artists David Bailey, Fiona Banner, Richard Wilson and Gavin Turk. They will be exhibiting at Rise Art Prize show at House of Vans in February. The final list is based on 5 global regions. Heja Rahiminia and Mitra Tabrizian are two Iranian artists who has been chosen among 4 finalists of Middles East and Africa region.
Touria El Glaoui, Rise Art Curator, writes on Heja’s works:
Heja's body of work ‘Refugee' tackles urgent and difficult issues of the contemporary, from what feels like a place of emotional sensibility and deep consideration. His work underlines pertinent issues of displacement and the anonymity of displaced bodies, migration, social and political disparities, all through the use of a minimalistic and conceptual, aerial landscape aesthetic. His works also create somewhat of an illusion, where the forms become a part of the landscape at first glance, and through their movement create varying striking patterns. The bodies in transit are at once no man and every man, allowing the work to translate across borders. "

www.riseartprize.com/finalists