Anonymous
IRAN / 2023
SECTION OF DRESS: Woman. Life. Freedom
A ‘woman without a voice” stands in solidarity with her country.
Written by Kirstie:
This powerful panel was created by a woman from Iran 🇮🇷, now seeking asylum in the UK. The artist calls herself a "woman without voice".
A qualified architect educated in Iran and France, the artist was born in Iran but left after the Islamic revolution. She has travelled widely and spent many years in Nepal. Alongside her career and love of all arts, she has been involved with many charities and projects that help to improve the lives of women and children.
In her last trip to the UK in 2018 to visit family, the artist experienced some problems and was denied access to return to Nepal or Iran. She was told her only choice moving forward was to claim asylum in the UK.
The artist and I met towards the end of last year, and we chatted for a long while about different aspects of the project. She noticed that Iran wasn’t represented on the Red Dress and asked if she could embroider a panel.
We managed to find a window in the garment’s schedule and the artist created a powerful embroidery. The panel itself tells the story of the uprising; beginning with the women, then the young men, followed by the revolution. The artist has used rich red, yellow and orange colours for the words ‘Woman Life Freedom’ which are adorned with small flowers - to convey warmth, beauty and positivity. Surrounding the words are strong motifs of the revolution created in the white, green and red of the Iranian flag.
The artist recently shared that she had been feeling guilt these past few months that she wasn’t in Iran, standing with her country asking for freedom and democracy. However, since the day she began her commission she has felt that she was with the people. The act of stitching and sharing their collective story had bought her a sense of connection and purpose.
“In 2018 I came to England, and I was forced to stay here. I thank you that you gave me this opportunity”.
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Contact: Please connect with Kirstie at reddressembroidery@gmail.com to put you in touch directly.
OUR SUPPORTERS
A huge thank you to all who have given their time, energy, enthusiasm, advice, experience and financial support to the Red Dress project over the years.
In addition to the institutions below, funding has been gratefully received from a number of private donations and 441 individuals around the world via 2 Crowdfunding campaigns in 2020 and 2022.
In addition to the institutions below, funding has been gratefully received from a number of private donations and 441 individuals around the world via 2 Crowdfunding campaigns in 2020 and 2022.
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