(1939 –2020) Iran
The Iranian Davood Koochaki made pencil drawings of mysterious monsters, fairy-tale creatures, often with explicit sexual characteristics. Half-jokingly, he said: ‘I try to draw beautifully, but this is how it turns out. I start with a couple of lines, look at them and then a figure appears in my head that I can draw.’ In the hope of a better life, Koochaki left the Iranian countryside when he was 13 and travelled to the capital, Teheran, where he started working in a garage. He ended up in the same cultural circle as the writer Gholam Hossein Saedi. Koochaki was known for his incredible honesty, which sometimes irritated others. He had a strong sense of justice and said what he thought. This almost aggressive honesty can also be seen in his work. He was amazed by his own creatures and drew them not only for fun but also as a way of expressing himself.
A video with Davood Koochaki working on one of his projects:
