Artist Touka Wiston

As a child in Iran, surrounded by war, revolution, constant fear and chaos, I realised that without fantasy the so-called ‘real world’ was something dry, harsh, unjust and full of despair. Ideologies were enforced and individuality highly discouraged. There were boxes and frames pre-made and, by law, you were doomed to live your entire life trapped inside of them. In 1986, my mother and I left Iran and moved to Sweden. I grew up and continued my passion and education in art, textile and design. I often had disagreements with professors and teachers who would not allow much artistic freedom, but rather preferred that everyone followed the same safe formula and created similar good results.