TEHRAN-The fourth solo exhibition of the young autistic savant Rastin Molaeizadeh titled “Regulus” is underway at Niavaran Palace Museum in Tehran.

Held on the occasion of the World Space Week, October 4 to 10, and the National Children’s Week, October 8 to 14, the exhibit includes 16 paintings by the 10-year-old artist, showing the process of launching spaceships and details of the launchers, CHTN reported.

Autistic savants are people who suffer from a developmental disability yet demonstrate some cognitive ability, exceeding what most people can do. These abilities may involve, art, music, arithmetic, spatial skills, or calendar abilities. 

Regulus, also called Alpha Leonis, is the brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Leo and one of the brightest in the entire sky. It is 77 light-years from Earth.

Rastin’s works are a bold depiction of the authority of conquering space and the history of the journey to the galaxy.

Born in Tehran, Rastin was very playful but had speech delays and oral–motor problems as a child. At the age of two years and eight months, he was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), which refers to a group of disorders characterized by impairment in the development of social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, imaginative activity and a limited number of interests and activities that tend to be repetitive. So, his therapies started immediately.

Since he was three, Rastin showed interest in the geometric relationship of objects and achieved creative arrangement with every geometric shape.

At the age of four, he started painting on the walls of the house and the next step was painting on all the ceramic surfaces of the house. After six months he began painting on paper.

When he was six years old, he became interested in the space shuttles and this was the beginning of his endless passion for space technology. Scientific documentaries about astronautics and the launch process were among his favorite fixed programs, and many books with related images were provided to him.

Apart from design, Rastin had a great interest in making launchers and used Lego, cardboard, cans and any tool to create a 3D model.

At the age of seven, he learned school lessons at home, and with indescribable enthusiasm, he started robotics and astronomy courses in a well-equipped research center in Mashhad, along with the language class.

Since June, he has held three solo exhibitions in Mashhad. His ongoing exhibit will run until October 15 at Niavaran Museum Palace located at Shahid Bahonar (Niavaran) Square.

SS/SAB