The Day and Night / Fig Leaf series explores the dualities that shape human existence, light and darkness, presence and absence, ornamentation and ambiguity. These paintings weave together Persian metaphors of paradise, where lush garden imagery evokes communal gatherings and the afterlife. Derakshani’s expressive brushstrokes, bold colors, and luxurious metallic paints create a visual tension between materiality and transcendence, positioning his craft as both an aesthetic and spiritual endeavor. 

Through his Migration / Grey Zone series, Derakshani reflects on displacement, cultural identity, and modernity. Shaped by his movement across artistic and geographic landscapes, his work embodies a deep engagement with the Western canon. Despite encountering its masterpieces later in life, his artistic development was profoundly influenced by the rich cultural environment of pre-revolutionary Iran. His work blends abstraction and figuration to explore the fluidity of belonging, memory, place, and identity. The motif of the turtle, symbolizing migration and endurance, appears throughout his compositions alongside subtle cartographic references to Iran, reinforcing a nostalgic and contested relationship with homeland.