Iran has been gripped by protests since the death in custody of a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin who had been arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women. Fuelled by public outrage, the protest has continued to grow leading to a vicious crackdown from the regime in which many have been imprisoned, tortured, raped and killed. The question is how as an artist do I respond to this very male aggression?
Ablution is an ongoing project made in collaboration with my community of Persians sisters living in the UK. We, as part of the Iranian diaspora, feel a shared pain with our relatives in Iran. In this project, I chose to employ a quiet and feminine vernacular in which I take the intimate and personal ritual of washing and universalise it. The Iranian women I focus on are choosing to show parts of the body in public that are censored by the regime; in itself a small act of rebellion.
The project began in September 2022 and was first exhibited in December 2022 at the Trinity Centre.The scale of the final images, in the exhibition, their Madonna like quality, is reflective of the magnitude of the many small but immeasurably brave gestures of defiance offered by Persian women in the face of a terrifying reality. You, the viewer, are invited to look behind the curtain, both literally and figuratively, to share in the experience of a community in pain.
It then continued its journey across various cities in the UK before being showcased for a second time in celebration of International Women’s Day at The Welfare, Ystradgynlais, Swansea, from 8th February to 8th March 2025.