Social, political and economic conditions have always impacted upon art. And this is no different for artist Batool Showghi, who is currently exhibiting a series of her mixed media pieces at the Harrow Arts Centre. The Iranian-born artist, who now lives in Harrow, has created a selection of pictures and concertina artist’s books inspired by her cultural heritage, memories, identity and loss, for her solo show Hidden Under. “A lot of my pieces feature women,“ Batool, 57, explains. “Women that are hidden under layers. In Iran, women have to be physically covered, they can’t go out as we do here. “That’s not to say that women being covered up is a negative thing, it can be positive. But I’m that much more liberated, I think an individual should have the choice. That’s not the case in Iran. “The other thing that is part of my culture, is that your emotions are also hidden. You should cover yourself and restrain your emotions and feelings. My works refers to that. “It also contains lots of layering, so together with the theme of being hidden, it goes hand-in-hand.“ A further subject explored in Batool’s work is that of family. Painstakingly created by hand, some of her pieces have taken in the region of 15 years to create, and tend to feature images of either her sister, daughter or niece. Even though she has seven brothers, there is only one man who makes a regular appearance in her work – her father. “His attitude to life, he went against his family to become a Sufi, and that shaped all of us creatively, even my brothers are musicians,” says Batool, a member of the Harrow Open Studios collective. “He was a very special person, who loved poetry, music and meditation. I bring him into my work because he was such an influence on me as an artist.“ The works themselves are mini treasure troves of collected photographs, prints and fabric, interspersed with stitching, drawing, painting, and calligraphy. Personal photographs merge beautifully with equally private, inscribed, family letters, and are framed by exotic fabrics, sometimes delicately stitched into pages of books. “It’s nerve-wracking having a solo show, with joint shows you can share some of the burden,“ says Batool. “But my next project is to create bigger pieces and explore these themes even further.“ Hidden Under is at Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, until April 10. Details: www.harrowarts.com 020 8416 8989