The ‘Imagined Freedom’ of Iranian women

on display in Seattle

Iranian artist Forouzan Safari’s work, "Imagined Freedom | Revealing Bodies Never Allowed to Be Seen," at ANTiPODE art gallery in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Courtesy the artist.

by Ayeda Masood, KUOW

Forouzan Safari grew up in Isfahan, Iran, a city known for its historic mosques, bridges, and Persian-Islamic architecture. When she moved to Los Angeles in 2013 to study painting at Otis College of Art and Design, she immediately missed home. Inspired by memories of Isfahan, Safari began creating scenes of the city, incorporating its distinctive architecture into her work.

This month, Safari's first solo show, “Imagined Freedom,” is on view at ANTiPODEArt Gallery, tucked beneath the sidewalk on South Main Street in Pioneer Square, just past the Seattle Jazz Fellowship. The show is on display until mid-July.

Inside ANTiPODE, its brightly lit brick walls are covered with black-and-white and colorful prints depicting women doing ordinary activities, like swimming in a river, sitting outside in tank tops, drinking alcohol in a field, and expressing their sexuality. However, these are all things that could get women arrested in Iran.

While the show coincides with Iran vs. Egypt World Cup match in Seattle, Amir Amini, one of ANTiPODE’s co-owners, said it was purely coincidental.

After moving to Los Angeles, Safari began drawing digitally in 2018, posting images online that reached audiences in Iran and across the world. For audiences in Iran, the works carry a particular resonance, because they depict freedoms many viewers have imagined but cannot openly experience.

"Sometimes people say, ‘That's what we were thinking,’" Safari said. "It's kind of dreamy. People over there [Iran] also like to see it, like to dream."

For instance, one of her prints depicts a group of women dancing freely in a field, against a vivid sunset and mountains. However, slightly hidden at their feet, tracking devices are wrapped around their ankles. Safari said the juxtaposition was intentional, meant to show that the women are never quite as free as the dancing might suggest.

Safari hopes her exhibit helps bring awareness to what women experience in Iran. However, she also makes sure to balance this with ensuring Iranian women are not painted as victims.

"I really like to show the power of women of Iran," Safari said. "I don't want to show them weak or trapped. I want to show them as fighters, and powerful."

Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement emerged after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022, after she was detained for allegedly violating the nation’s dress code by wearing her hijab “improperly.” Women around Iran were angry, and started protesting against the country’s restrictive laws against women.

The movement is an important part of the exhibit's structure. ANTiPODE’s co-owner and curator, Saina Heshmati, organized the show as a timeline: colorful works first, then black and white to showcase life before the movement and after.

ANTiPODE was founded by Heshmati and Amini, both immigrants from Tehran, who met in Seattle and spent a few years attending art walks before deciding they wanted to contribute to Pioneer Square’s arts scene.

The gallery has been open for nine months. Its name comes from geography; the antipode of a place is the point on the exact opposite side of the earth. They think of Seattle and Tehran that way.

Their programming is built around a specific philosophy: Immigrant artists should not be reduced to their suffering, and the art should speak for itself.

"It's a burden for immigrant artists to just talk about their problems," Heshmati said. "I don't want to put immigrants in the box. I want the art to talk for itself. That is the most important thing for us."

Before choosing Safari for June’s exhibit, Heshmati said she had been following her work on Instagram for years, and was drawn to it.

"When I first talked with Forouzan, I got super emotional," Heshmati said. "I feel like with each piece I can feel the feeling that she had. I can put myself in all her works."

For Amini, the gallery's existence is a statement about what immigrants actually do in cities.

"You truly feel home when you can contribute to the public space," Amini said.

Amini feels that urgency sharply right now.

"With the anti-immigrant wave, sadly, that is happening, it's always there, but it's amplified. So the mission is even more important,” he said.

Safari says she hopes the people who come to the gallery — Iranian and non-Iranian, diaspora and tourist, soccer fan and art lover — leave with something uncomplicated.

"Maybe just a good time," Safari said. "Just imagining and dreaming with me. I hope it makes them happy and hopeful. Maybe in the future, the other generation, people of Iran, will have the freedom to live in any way they want."

She paused.

"I just want freedom for my people. This is a very sad time for us. I really want my people to be happy and live freely as they want."

See images here

Via KUOW