Women, Yazd, Iran-Photographs
Artist Statement
This project aims to portray women as they suffer a crushing defeat in society. Being the core of my focus, woman is described as a bird who is dying. I have applied Forough Farrokhzad’s last poem of her last book of poems—”The Bird is Dying…”—to the photos to address each image more touchingly. I have also conveyed the issue through a storyline; women sometimes strive for colors and light, looking for the sun in the meanwhile, but they are finally defeated, feeling gloomy. This project represents a selection from what I took in Yazd (Iran) from 2016 to 2019 by having conversation with people and allies. My work has spanned a variety of mediums including photography, literature, and performance.
University lecturer, literary translator, and photographer, Marjan Modarres Sabzevari is an Iranian who graduated with a master’s degree in English language and literature. For about four years, she developed documentary photography to record environments bringing women’s issue into focus. She believes that documentary photography can change the unjust laws under which the women live in the Middle East. Entering the 2016 Worldwide Photo Walk Leader Competition (Scott Kelby’s), her photo was chosen as the elected one from Yazd and it was exhibited in an art gallery in Isfahan.
