Sayehaye Sepide-dam, 8ft. x 8ft., Inscribed tin foil, felt (2023, Courtesy of the artist)

 It all began with the death of “Mahsa Amini” on September 16, 2022. The Revolution started with the central slogan of “Woman, Life, Freedom”. Since then, Iranians have been using different modes of protest to fight for their rights in more than 163 cities throughout the country. During the past few months, more than 600 souls have been taken by the Islamic Regime, both during the protests and by execution.


Right now, there are more than 20,000 people detained, though the actual numbers are much higher. The Instagram page “1500tasvir_list” has been collecting data from families of the protestors. So far, there are roughly 700 names on the record with the rest remaining unknown and unidentified.


Iran is known for its arts, mathematics, and  its deep cultural history. Western people know primarily of Persian carpets, tapestry, tiles and many other handicrafts that they consider to be treasures. What is being forgotten is the people who make that history happen. On this monument, the patterns have been replaced with portraits of 20 victims, the ones that have been most seen on Western media. Carved on the reflective surfaces, we also begin to see ourselves, now vague figures merging with these portraits as Sayehaye Sepide-dam that which we first see upon each new day.


Based on “1500tasvir_list”, some prisoners’ names are inscribed on the wall.
Since inscribing the names, 6 have been released after almost 100 days of being in prison.

Sayehaye Sepide-dam, 8ft. x 8ft., Drywall, Graphite (2023, Courtesy of the artist)