PAINTING
STEFAN ESANU
 
DETAILS
Mixed Media on canvas
120 x 160 x 3 cm
2025
 
DESCRIPTION
When I look at this image, I see that the pink attire fundamentally subverts the Taliban's own self-projected image of rigid, patriarchal authority.
 
It suggests to me a radical, almost unthinkable, internal challenge to their strict ideology, or perhaps a deeply personal act of dissent within what I know to be a highly repressive system.
 
More broadly, I find the image functions as powerful visual satire.
 
By dressing a figure of such severity in a "soft" or "playful" color, I believe it highlights the inherent absurdity, hypocrisy, or even an unintended vulnerability within their violent and oppressive framework.
 
It truly strips away their perceived invincibility, perhaps even mocking their rigid adherence to an extreme interpretation of their beliefs.