TEHRAN-The fifth individual exhibition of the young autistic savant Rastin Molaeizadeh titled “IC 1101” is underway at Sa'dabad Historical Cultural Complex in Tehran.

the exhibit includes paintings by the 11-year-old artist, showing the process of launching spaceships and details of the launchers, IRNA 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. 

IC 1101 is considered a large galaxy characterized by an extensive, diffuse halo. IC 1101 possesses a diffuse core which is the largest known core of any galaxy to date, and also hosts a supermassive black hole that is one of the largest black holes known. The galaxy is located at 1.15 billion light-years from Earth. 

Comparing IC 1101 and autism, Raha Mokhtari, Rastin’s mother, said that while IC 1101 is one of the largest galaxies in the known world, “as earthly observers, we see it as a faint star in the sky. Likewise, we are a long way from understanding the world of autistic people and that has caused us to remain oblivious to their unique abilities”.

Concurrent with the exhibition, Neauphle-le-Château Mansion in Tehran hosted a conference titled “Wonderful Mind,” where neuroscientist and neurologist Abdolrahman Najlerahim and cognitive neuroscience researcher Reza Khamaki talked in support of autism.

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 a 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 four solo exhibitions in Mashhad and Tehran. The current exhibit will run through January 1, 2024 at Sa'dabad Historical Cultural Complex located at Shahid Taheri St., Shahid Fallahi St., Valiasr St.

SS/SAB