Art|Kōrero presents the work of Persian artist Alireza Elahi. Described as the Basquiat of the Middle East, the artist relishes in colour and form. Mixing abstraction with contemporary graffiti techniques, building an exciting and fragmented view of urbanisation. No painting is the same, each work unique. Created by building layers of paint based on the artist’s feeling at any one moment. “Illusive City” was inspired by Alireza’s unique art technique called ‘the act of buffing’ where the artist displays how graffiti art is removed from the wall and transforms it into a colourful abstract work. Here in “lllusive city” the artist plays with the conscious and the unconscious mind and the tenuous relationship between urban graffiti art and authorities attempts to remove it from city walls. A repetitive circular process with no end./// Alireza explains: “My canvas is like a wall in a city. Someone writes a tag or graffiti on the wall and then a municipal worker might come to cover it and destroy the artwork. It is a constant battle between the street artist who sprays the work on the wall and the worker who has the duty to remove it. I am BOTH the graffiti artist and the municipal worker - it’s a deep battle between ME and I.”