Iran’s most prolific street artist arrives in London

Over 100 walls in Iran’s capital Tehran are adorned with Mehdi Ghadyanloo’s striking, surrealist trompe l’oeil illusions.

His street paintings are often playful and upbeat, but when he paints on canvas he’s free to explore the darker corners of his psyche – and it’s these personal works that are on display at the artist’s first London show at the Howard Griffin Gallery.

“Growing up during the Iran-Iraq war had a strong effect on me,” Ghadyanloo told the Guardian. “As Freud said, our childhood shapes who we are. My father was a soldier. He was in the front line. My mother was always waiting for good news of my father. I think it’s one of the reasons I have fear in my work.”

Mehdi Ghadyanloo’s Perception is on display at Howard Griffin Gallery, Shoreditch until April 2.