Mashid Mohadjerin
Mashid Mohadjerin (b. 1976, Iran/Belgium) is a visual artist working with photography, video, and collage. Her work addresses social injustice, identity, and political resistance. As part of her PhD research at the University of Antwerp, she published Freedom is Not Free, awarded Best Author’s Book at Les Rencontres d’Arles (2021). Other publications include Lipstick & Gas Masks, on women during the Arab uprisings, and Textile as Resistance. Her work has been shown at BOZAR, the M HKA, Extra City Kunsthal, the Red Star Line Museum, the Noorderlicht Festival (NL), Fotoleggendo (IT), and Pananti Atelier (IT).
revolution, 2016
1885, 1920, 1950, 1980, 2011, 2025, 2025
Mashid Mohadjerin’s practice forms a visual language for alternative historical narratives. She brings a wider perspective to personal stories about the roles of generations of women and men respectively, in Iran and the wider Middle East region, in the context of authoritarian and oppressive political ideology. From 2013 until 2016, Mohadjerin researched the role of women’s resistance movements in Iran. Her work #revolution uses the visual documentation she gathered to create a collective portrait of female resilience.
1885, 1920, 1950, 1980, 2011, 2025 from Mohadjerin’s more recent series, Riding in Silence & The Crying Dervish, shifts her focus towards the role of masculinity in the formation of oppressive and authoritarian political ideology. It comprises a collage of images resembling a timeline that sets a story of displacement against the historical arc of Iranian politics. Mohadjerin’s practice informs us that taking control of images and visuality can be a form of empowerment.