Maryam Safajoo’s paintings narrate contemporary stories of the systematically persecuted Iranian Baha’i community, Iran’s largest religious minority. While at first glance it might be mistaken for a cozy scene, this painting depicts a house raid by government agents. Common for members of the Baha’i faith in Iran, these raids often end in violence, imprisonment, and sometimes execution. Safajoo’s working method is painstakingly journalistic. She communicates via WhatsApp with family members and community connections back home in Iran, some of whom are currently imprisoned, to verify every detail before she paints— careful to make sure her paintings won’t cause further harm to her subjects. The artist’s sister, mother, and father have all been imprisoned at various times, so the act of illustrating this persecution is both deeply personal and a political act, refusing such oppression.

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