Mostafa Azimitabar

Kurdish refugee Mostafa ‘Moz’ Azimitabar is an artist, musician, writer and human rights activist. He was born in Iran in 1986. After fleeing persecution, he arrived in Australia in 2013, seeking asylum. He was held in detention, first on Manus Island, then in a Melbourne hotel. Freed in 2021, he now lives in Sydney.

‘On Manus Island, I was surrounded by chaos and trauma. Art helped me find tranquillity. It also allowed me to build friendships with people in the outside world, including artist Angus McDonald, in whose studio I created this painting,’ says Azimitabar.

‘I made this self-portrait to share my story. My face looks outwards, showing the suffering I have experienced, but also my strength and determination. I painted it with a toothbrush using coffee and acrylic because I wasn’t allowed to have art supplies in detention, so I used a toothbrush and coffee to make paintings on paper or whatever else I found. I chose the title KNS088 because for eight years I was called by this number instead of a name.

‘The message of my painting is love. Love is how we kill the monsters. We are all one family, connected by our humanity.’

Mostafa Azimitabar is a finalist in Art Gallery of NSW Sulman Prizes in 2024 and 2023. He also is a finalist in Art Gallery of NSW Archibald Prizes in 2024 and 2022.