Larger Than Life: Brushstrokes of Epic Murals Tell a Story

Iranian American Hooman Khalili has been to Israel 8 times within the last year. And that’s all because of a photo he took with an artist in California who painted a mural of Mahsa Amini. It went viral and that’s when he got into the business of designing, funding and executing the production of 8 murals in Israel covering walls with the faces of strong Iranian women who lost their lives fighting the Islamic Regime in Iran. 

The photo from California went viral. It wasn’t long before senior correspondent at YNet news and political activist Emily Schrader saw the picture, liked it, reached out and then put Khalili in touch with Jerusalem’s deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Hanoum who has been playing a large role in Israel’s support of Iranian women today. 

Khalili designs the murals alongside designers Justin Mcginnis and Ryan Tseun, who created a mosaic image of Mahsa Amini. In each square of the mural, there are images of more than 1,000 victims of the Iranian regime in the past year, male and female. Khalili uses local artists to actually paint the murals on site, saying he has the vision but not the artistic skill for working with the brush. 

This week ahead of Rosh Hashanah, he unveils four new murals in Israel. The first in Tel Aviv, the second and third in the mixed Arab Jewish city of Haifa and the fourth in Jerusalem. 

Khalili plans to make 18 murals in total, despite the setback of the art form being very costly. He’s funding this project himself with the help of some donors. 18 is a significant number for the Jewish people. In our culture, 18 means chai – or life. He says two individuals in his life independently came to him saying they feel the number 18. 

So far, Khalili has come out with eight murals in Israel. The first was unveiled in January of 2022, the second in February in the Palestinian city of Nazareth, the third and fourth were done in March and April. 

Outside of Israel, Khalili has also executed a mural in downtown Los Angeles, a few blocks from where the Lakers play. Khalili is not only an interesting character for being able to execute these larger than life pieces of art with confidence, but he has an interesting past. His mother escaped Iran. Khalili now takes part in the Christian faith. He says, “my whole life is a miracle.”