These combinations present the life in Iran for me (as a woman) and the internal and external variable factors of it. The big and free figures in the background are the symbols of life. Limited figures in the small boxes are the symbols of the external and internal limitations and pressures.
The small boxes are like the pieces of puzzles are changeable and replaceable and making a new combination. Playing with the words of the word “life” in the empty boxes is a more direct indication to the playfulness of life.
Shahrzad animation is my art work in collaboration with Mahni’s life and lines design. I have used Mahni’s concept of the limited and free posing of the woman in her design, as a concept for my Shahrzad’s character. In my animation, Shahrzad is the metaphor of culture and the symbol of a wise generation; as well, Dervishes are also a metaphor of ancient Persia and the old culture and history, the concepts which are in juxtaposition of the fashion and brand fetishism in Iran.
Shahrzad is a brief look and analysis of the situation of the young, rich generation of the Iranians. In this work I am trying to convey that materialism does not bring modernity or “coolness.” It is modernization without the culture of modernity behind it. For many of the young Iranians of my generation, buying expensive brands and being the fan of industrialized cultures means modernity. In Iran, being fashionable is becoming the judgmental point of the personality. In my opinion, this is where we should question our identities and where we are going with our brand extremism. Who we are and what it means to follow the fashion without having a right understanding of them and the concepts behind them.