A world more balanced _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

For mother and son creatives Ashraf Pirnia and Pedram Pirnia, “art is not simply expression”, it is “resistance, healing, and testimony”.

In their exhibition The Female Gaze and How It Shapes Our World at Toi Pōneke until the 30^th of May, they explore “how visual storytelling can restore dignity, challenge injustice, and nurture both personal and collective wellbeing” through photographic and painted works.  

Pedram’s photography shines a light on the silenced rights of women. He has worked with development agencies around the world, including Save the Children, Family Planning, and VSA, capturing social and political realities. With the stark contrast of light and shadow, his images confront erasure, reclaiming space and amplifying narratives of women asserting their autonomy.

Meanwhile, Pedram says that his mother’s practice has “grown from a deep well of personal healing; her art is a language of freedom, care, and the will to uplift women’s lives”. Ashraf’s vivid, emotionally charged, surrealist paintings explore the vital role women play in shaping the future, reminding us that without their voices, the world remains incomplete and unbalanced.

Together, they dive deep into introspection and feminist resistance, amplifying silenced voices and uncovering layers of identity, truth, and transformation in their exhibition.

“Our work is guided by the female gaze,” they say. “Unlike the objectifying lens of the traditional male gaze, the female gaze embraces complexity and honours lived experience. It sees women not as symbols, but as thinkers, survivors, storytellers”.

A call for visibility, representation, and autonomy, the exhibition is a powerful act of witnessing and an urgent testament to the impact women have in shaping the world. Each photograph and painting is accompanied by text, “not as explanation, but as invitation”, Pedram says, adding that the text acts as a “gesture toward connection, reflection, and deeper listening”, as well as an attempt to imagine a world that is more fair, more just, and more humane.

“Every piece in this exhibition is also in dialogue with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global framework that links justice to action,” Pedram continues. “From gender equality and good health to climate justice and education, each artwork doesn't only highlight an issue, it gestures toward a solution. The SDGs offer a shared language of hope and a way to turn witness into change, and care into commitment.”

Each brushstroke an act of resilience and defiance, each click of the shutter an attempt to tell a story with dignity, Ashraf and Pedram are urging change and championing the impact women have in creating a more equitable world.

“Through the female gaze, art becomes an act of care, not capture. It resists the impulse to consume or expose, and instead listens, protects, and honours. Our artistic practice is rooted in consent, respect, and accountability,” they say. “This is not about beautifying struggle. It is about holding space for truth and ensuring that those whose lives are shared remain visible on their own terms; with agency, with context, and with care.”