In Iran, there is a cemetery, a burial ground whose history reaches back centuries into the early Islamic period.
Carved into its old gravestones are symbols of lives, traces of people's crafts, identities, and traditions.
I borrowed these symbols from stone and translated them into thread. Thousands of stitches, made by hand, over long winter nights, to be worn close to the heart.
Stitched in bright colours, this piece reimagines spring in Shiraz, with birds chirping, the sweet fragrance of orange blossoms filling the air, and the lush green cypress trees standing like a miracle in an otherwise dry landscape.
The cypress (سرو) has long represented life and endurance in Persian culture. More enigmatic are the birds at its base. It is an unusual composition, and its meaning remains a mystery to me.
From stone to thread.
From memory to something carried on the body.
In Iran, there is a cemetery, a burial ground whose history reaches back centuries into the early Islamic period.
Carved into its old gravestones are symbols of lives, traces of people's crafts, identities, and traditions.
I borrowed these symbols from stone and translated them into thread. Thousands of stitches, made by hand, over long winter nights, to be worn close to the heart.
Stitched in bright colours, this piece reimagines spring in Shiraz, with birds chirping, the sweet fragrance of orange blossoms filling the air, and the lush green cypress trees standing like a miracle in an otherwise dry landscape.
The cypress (سرو) has long represented life and endurance in Persian culture. More enigmatic are the birds at its base. It is an unusual composition, and its meaning remains a mystery to me.
From stone to thread.
From memory to something carried on the body.