Woman, life, Freedom : WestminsterResearch

Creators	Tabrizian, M.
Description	‘Woman, life, Freedom’ (2025) , consists of one large photograph. inspired by the Iranian women’s protests under the slogan of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’, the work focuses on five Iranian women activists in exile, reworking the notion of portraiture. Set in the street, that could be in London or Tehran (?), where the protest broke out, a group of women are looking at an event unfolding outside of the frame. Each was asked to contemplate her own experience and project it onto the street, creating an enigmatic image that oscillates between past and present. All in black, could suggest ‘mourning’ after the death of Mahsa Amini the 22-year-old who died in police custody in 2022 - after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab ‘correctly’. Mahsa’s death sparked massive, unprecedented women-led protests across Iran, against the compulsory hijab and other discriminatory laws. As a result, some women in Iran currently refuse to wear the hijab, despite the danger of being arrested at any moment. The enforcement of the forced-hijab law was a fundamental tenet of the Islamic Republic. To reverse this mandate would be to challenge/dismantle the ideological core of the regime, thereby admitting the ultimate and inevitable failure of the Islamic Revolution. The work was acquired by National Portrait Gallery - to be exhibited in 2026 – exact date tbc

Creators

Description

‘Woman, life, Freedom’ (2025) , consists of one large photograph. inspired by the Iranian women’s protests under the slogan of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’, the work focuses on five Iranian women activists in exile, reworking the notion of portraiture.
Set in the street, that could be in London or Tehran (?), where the protest broke out, a group of women are looking at an event unfolding outside of the frame. Each was asked to contemplate her own experience and project it onto the street, creating an enigmatic image that oscillates between past and present.

All in black, could suggest ‘mourning’ after the death of Mahsa Amini the 22-year-old who died in police custody in 2022 - after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab ‘correctly’. Mahsa’s death sparked massive, unprecedented women-led protests across Iran, against the compulsory hijab and other discriminatory laws. As a result, some women in Iran currently refuse to wear the hijab, despite the danger of being arrested at any moment. The enforcement of the forced-hijab law was a fundamental tenet of the Islamic Republic. To reverse this mandate would be to challenge/dismantle the ideological core of the regime, thereby admitting the ultimate and inevitable failure of the Islamic Revolution.
The work was acquired by National Portrait Gallery - to be exhibited in 2026 – exact date tbc

Related outputs

Interview: 'Images That Put Reality in Context'
Jenny Waldman and Mitra Tabrizian 2023. Interview: 'Images That Put Reality in Context'. Art Quarterly. 2023 (Autumn), pp. 68-71.

Film Stills
Tabrizian, M. 2023. Film Stills. White Chapel Gallery, London 14 Jun - 03 Sep 2023

Interview: Mitra Tabrizian and the art of realism
Gemma Padley and Mitra Tabrizian 2022. Interview: Mitra Tabrizian and the art of realism. RPS Journal.

The Silence of Numbers
Tabrizian, M. 2022. The Silence of Numbers. in: Collage: Women of Prix Pictet since 2008 Gestalten.

off screen
Tabrizian, M. 2019. off screen . Kerber.

The Insider - video art
Tabrizian, M. 2018. The Insider - video art . UK & USA

Gholam- British/Iranian feature film
Tabrizian, M. 2018. Gholam- British/Iranian feature film. UK & Internationally

‘You don’t know what nights are like?’ – public art project
Tabrizian, M. 2016. ‘You don’t know what nights are like?’ – public art project.

'Looking back' - on the young unemployed
Tabrizian, M. 2015. 'Looking back' - on the young unemployed. Venice Biennial 09 May - 22 Nov 2015

Tehran project
Tabrizian, M. 2013. Tehran project. Fondazione Fotografia, Modena, Italy 20 Apr - 23 Jun 2013

Another country, 2010
Tabrizian, M. 2013. Another country, 2010. Fondazione Fotografia, Modena, Italy 20 Apr - 23 Jun 2013

Leicestershire
Tabrizian, M. 2012. Leicestershire.

Untitled 2009
Tabrizian, M. 2011. Untitled 2009. National Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland, Australia 18 Dec 2010 - 26 Apr 2011

City, London
Tabrizian, M. 2009. City, London. Albion Gallery, London 22 Jan - 28 Feb 2009

This is that place
Tabrizian, M. 2008. This is that place. London Tate Publishing.

The predator
Tabrizian, M. and Williams, C. 2006. The predator.

'Border' and 'Tehran' 2006
Tabrizian, M., Golding, A. and Nava, Z. 2006. 'Border' and 'Tehran' 2006.

The perfect crime
Tabrizian, M. and Golding, A. 2004. The perfect crime. Elcano, Bilbao, Spain 19 May - 22 Jun 2004

Beyond the limits: silent majority
Tabrizian, M. 2004. Beyond the limits: silent majority.

Beyond the limits
Tabrizian, M. 2004. Beyond the limits. London, UK Thames & Hudson.

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Woman, life, Freedom

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