Nafir & FRZ in Milan: Mandalas to Stop War

Nafir (left) “Flight of Eslimi” and FRz (right) “Fa Kingz” recent collaboration in Milan, Italy. (Photo © Andrea Fortis)

Two new street mandalas here in Milan, Italy from two Street Artists from Iran, Nafir and FRZ. Not surprisingly, the theme is peace, something that feels very endangered in certain parts of the world due to oil, natural resources, banking, private profits, and sometimes geopolitical rancor. The side by side pieces, one based on natural and traditional Iranian decorative patterning, the other more folkloric in motif, each take a different route to the same goal.

Nafir. “Flight of Eslimi”. Milan, Italy. (photo © Andrea Fortis)

“This piece is called ‘Flight of Eslimi’ and it is a statement about changing for the better,” says Nafir, who is originally from Tehran and whose work on the street is usually darker in mood and outlook than this one. “It talks about our ability to become a new form of existence, like the worm (idea) that can change to a butterfly (gold).”

FRz. “Fa Kingz” Milan, Italy (Gif courtesy of the artist)

Tabriz based FRZ creates his mural (and GIF) “Fa kingz” as perhaps a colorful condemnation of the people who are using war and violence to steal and destroy lives and cultural heritage. “It is about the ambitions of those who have power and their unreasonable demands for governing the world,” he says. “Those human beings demolished priceless lives and homes of others just to prove their power and wealth are showing us the selfishness of those who say they are searching for immortality – but for them it does not exist.”