MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
Red: Architecture in Monochrome
(Phaidon, £29.95)
THE COLOUR red has impacted on human creativity since time immemorial, from Palaeolithic cave painting in Spain, aboriginal Australian art and Pompeii’s villa frescos to the memorable El Lissitzky 1919 poster Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge.
Carminic acid, extracted from cochineal insects, was the dye used by Inca and Aztec elites and was worth its weight in gold to the conquistadors, who introduced it to Europe. They shipped 72 metric tonnes of it to Seville in 1587 alone.
KATAYOUN SHAHANDEH surveys Iran’s cultural heritage and explains what has been damaged and what could be lost
SIMON PARSONS applauds an artist who rescues and rehumanises stories of women, the victims of violence, from a feminist perspective
JOHN GREEN welcomes a remarkable study of Mozambique’s most renowned contemporary artist
BLANE SAVAGE recommends the display of nine previously unseen works by the Glaswegian artist, novelist and playwright


