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“Gordafarid” is a poetic visual anthology exploring the intricacies of the female experience and portraying the relentless journey of Resistance.

Drawing inspiration from a symbolic heroine and mythical female figure in the context of ancient Persian literature who valiantly fought against the raiders of Iran. Gordafarid embodies the multiplicity of female personas, and disrupts the binary view of gender norms, as navigating multifaceted roles within society.

“With not a moment’s delay, she dressed herself in a knight’s armor, gathered her hair beneath a Rumi helmet, and rode out from the fortress, a lion eager for battle." Gordāfarīd roared at the enemy’s ranks, "Where are your heroes, your warriors, your tried and tested chieftains?"

— Ferdowsi, Shāhnāmeh "The Book of Kings"

“The Female body is both the subject matter and the central expressive element of the visual language in my formalistic approach to storytelling. I juxtapose compositions adhering to formalist principles with an emotionally evocative visual lexicon- abundant with symbols, allegories, colors, and patterns- to achieve an expressive gesture and a dynamic dialogue between the visual elements.

The interplay of these elements in the photographs and the short film in this series lets me reinterpret, and reintroduce them in a contemporary narrative that navigates intricate arenas for self-presentation and the performance of identity. My work aspires to inform the development of a subversive female gaze by curating personas that reenact layers of social and political transformations, exposing the viewer to the multiplicity of female representation in embodying figures of resistance.

Through using my own body as a canvas and a site of performance, I explore the malleability and transformation of identity, and navigate complex intersections of societal control, agency, and resistance, eliciting a provocative and transformative impact on the viewer. My photographs deconstruct the power structures and reproduce characters that are situated in contrastive positions of strength and vulnerability, confronting and challenging the authority structures that govern the female body.”