Afghanistan's new, young painter

last updated 8 January 2015

Afghanistan's new, young painter

A 7-year-old Afghan girl who lost her arm to an explosive has been enjoying her newfound talent for painting. Less than a year ago, Shah Bibi Tarakhail was playing outside when she picked up what she thought was a rock and threw it on the ground. The resulting explosion took her right arm and right eye. She was brought to the U.S. and fitted with a prosthetic, which she soon began using to create colorful works of abstract art. Artist Davyd Whaley compared her “mind-blowing” paintings to the work of Jackson Pollock.

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