The Quiet Encroachment: Stories of Everyday Resistance
2024
Recycled textiles, yarn, mirror fragments, video
In Iran, women confront a theocracy that limits their freedoms in public life. Their resistance isn't through organized campaigns but through everyday acts – a "social non-movement." Having faced violence in public spaces, I understand the fear, even in seemingly safe places. Police raids can happen anywhere. This fear is something I've felt personally, as an Iranian woman in Iran.
The Quiet Encroachment: Stories of Everyday Resistance features masks and stories reflecting both the unpredictability of life for Iranian women and the ways in which they conceal their identities in public. The masks symbolize tools of resistance; their designs, inspired by traditional needlework that shift from the organized to the chaotic.
As you hear the stories of everyday resistance collected from Iranian women, look in the mirror. You'll see yourself reflected, symbolically joining the challenge against oppressive rules.