Nov 18-20

Friday opening 18th Nov 18:00-22:00

Sat/sun 19th-2-0th Nov 14:00-19:00

The multi-channel sound installation is a recreation of the “Mahshahr Massacre” and is dedicated to the people of Mahshahr in Iran who lost their lives, friends, and families. The multi-channel installation remakes the atmosphere of the incident with a soundscape of wind, protestors’ voices, and gunshots, meaning to convey a glimpse of what essentially took place in 2019. The sounds used in the work are partially extracted from the videos leaked from the incident and then edited/upscaled to the point of distortion and even falsification. The installation also challenges the methods and processes related to the documentation/recreation of actual events and reflects on how authoritative regimes exploit narratives to their advantage.

Mid-November 2019, Iran.

The Iranian government raised the gas price up to 300% overnight without prior notice. In one day, protests erupted in almost every city around the country. Amid the protests, the internet went down throughout the whole country. In total darkness, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used unprecedented violence against people, and in one week, more than 1500 people were reportedly shot dead. As protests raged, people in the city of Mahshar, in Khuzestan, one of Iran’s resource-rich yet poor provinces, people who had suffered extreme injustice over 40 years of dictatorship under the Islamic regime took control of their city. After three days, the military forces arrived, forcing people to flee to the canebrake area of the city. As violence escalated, the Revolutionary Guards used armored vehicles and tanks to circle and shoot the demonstrators directly. There were initial reports that 40 to 150 people had been murdered in Mahshahr, primarily in Canebrake.

About the Artist:

else would like to remain anonymous