Feminist and religious figure Tahirih famously declared to her executors in 1852 Persia:
می توانی به زودی مرا به قتل برسانید
اما جلوی آزادی زنان را نمیتوانید بگیرید
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“You can end my life as swiftly as you wish
but you can never stop the emancipation of women”
Her fateful final words echo through history and are embodied in the young women of Iran today. Light is used to memorialize Tahirih’s words, which are repeated around the installation in decorative calligraphy, and throwing light into the space.
The cylindrical works act as a memorial echoing Tahiri’s powerful last words and sentiment still alive in the young people of Iran today. They require engagement as a viewer needs to move their body to navigate through and around the space and these works, and for those who can read the text, to circumambulate around them, mirroring acts of worship.
