Tala Madani’s recent works explore education and instruction, examining the ways in which children are controlled and cultured by their schooling. In Perfect Copy I, a child is depicted drawing a policeman, a symbol of authority and control. Inspired by a method of drawing called ‘direct draw’, in which students copy lines made by their teacher to form drawings, Madani’s works engage with the role of copying and repetition in learning, via repeated motifs that are deliberately undisciplined and unruly.

'“Perfect Copy” is based on a colouring-in exercise Madani’s daughter brought home from school. Through Madani’s ironic transposition, this icon of state authority is humbled by a little girl and her mother. The canvas’s monumental scale is conceptual; at more than 14ft wide, it signals the seriousness with which Madani approaches what many consider the artless, silly, or infantile.' – Jonathan Griffin, 'Tala Madani: Biscuits review — paintings of sharp scatological satire', Financial Times, 12 January 2023