Don't Let This Symbolism Kill You

Nafir is a self-taught Iranian artist whose works are influenced by traditional Iranian art and culture. Identifying as a vandal street artist, his art focuses on social and political issues of Iran. He found his moniker in one of his school books from an Iranian poem, Nafir, that means scream. He started tagging the streets of Tehran, where he lives and works, in 2007. His work can be found on walls in crowded areas of the city to fight censorship and political and social problems.

Don't Let This Symbolism Kill Your Heart • 2016

After spending a few days in India, Nafir felt that India like Iran is a place where women are subjugated. The piece is a commentary on women’s rights in the eastern part of the world and depicts the profile of a woman shadowed by traditional thoughts and customs. The Persian motifs on the face of the woman are a symbol of this intricate and at times oppressive culture, which on the other hand is extremely rich and actually lead by women. Nafir painted an antenna around the woman’s neck to highlight the hypocrisy of our current social system. It symbolises the contradiction of the lives of women as depicted on the internet versus the lives they actually live.