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Activist Art refers to works where the artist expresses their criticism and protest regarding social and political issues through creative expression. Its goal is social or political change. These works lead to awareness about issues that the artist intends to be seen. Traditionally, they were executed in the form of murals and street art in public spaces. But today, they more often address important issues such as environmental destruction, cultural heritage, racial discrimination, gender issues, and the neglect of women’s rights and their vulnerability through body art and performance. These works are less frequently presented in elite galleries. Active artists have their works performed in public places, social centers, and are displayed through documentation in virtual environments. The effectiveness of this art is seen not only in changing people’s minds but also in strengthening collective identity.
Many of Ahmad Nadalian’s works can be categorized in the field of social activist and protest art, protesting environmental destruction, cultural heritage, attention to women, gender inequality, and their ruthless murder.
Protection of Rivers: Over two decades, Nadalian carved hundreds of goddesses and fish on river rocks and gifted them to nature. Unfortunately, ignorance and lack of respect for nature caused protected natural environments to be exploited personally and industrially, resulting in the destruction of many of his works that existed in Iran’s nature. He drew public attention to the destruction of water resources and river pollution.
In protest against the destruction of riverbeds, he attacked the loaders that were causing destruction with stones and created numerous artistic works as protest.
The bad consequences that were created for his works became a ladder, and I enriched the meaning of the works by referring to myths, beliefs, and even social conditions.
These actions show that Nadalian has put art in service of protecting the environment and natural heritage. His art is not merely aesthetic but is a tool for criticizing environmental destruction and calling for social responsibility. Nadalian says: “In many cultures, there was a belief that the earth is the mother goddess. Polluting and harming the earth was considered disrespectful to it. This belief existed in the past that women unwillingly became victims of evil and were harmed and deprived of many of their duties. In the contemporary world, attention is paid to women’s violated rights. This is why history has been re-examined and in many social movements, female heroes are admired.”
“Death of Goddesses” Collection: In reaction to the damage inflicted on cultural heritage, natural environment, rivers, and Mount Damavand, Nadalian formed a protest project titled “Death of Goddesses.” This work was a type of protest art that reflected the destruction of the region’s natural symbols in his art.
Nadalian’s works are often multifaceted. For many years, wounded goddesses have had allegorical presence in reliefs, sculptures, and Nadalian’s paintings, referring to the wound of the myth of wounded women. On one hand, his works are rooted in myths, connected to environmental issues, and social issues are reflected in his works. Whatever happens around him always affects his works.
In continuation of environmental works, the wounding of women in social events of 2009 was reflected in Nadalian’s works. His performance art, in collaboration with his wife in Polur, was reminiscent of the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan.
The same type of narrative can be seen in the paintings he created on Hormuz Island.
What Nadalian saw in Tehran’s streets was reflected in his works at the 2009 environmental festival.
Opposition to the Destruction of Historical Works Related to Qaleh Dokhtar Nadalian showed sensitivity to the destruction of historical buildings related to Qaleh Dokhtar and reacted to this issue in a protest and symbolic manner through the language of art.
After creating protest works, Nadalian was threatened by the destroyers. They sent him a message that they would put him in a sack and take him away.
Regarding Hormuz too, for supporting and selling women’s works, they slapped him and broke the women’s paintings. He protested actively and reddened his face.
Activist Events in Hormuz
Alongside his works in Polur and other provinces, his activity in Hormuz was linked to social empowerment and utilized participatory art. Through combining education, artwork creation, and social empowerment projects, he considered local women and marginalized communities. The beginning of the work was very difficult. Fanatical men didn’t want girls to have presence in public environments. Due to girls accompanying Nadalian, several fanatics who had very violent behavior, due to jealousy or ignorance, broke the artistic works performed by women that were displayed behind glass. One of them attacked Nadalian and after insulting him, slapped his face.
He not only witnessed physical violence (being slapped) but even women’s paintings were broken to stop his activities. Instead of silence, Nadalian protested actively and to represent this violence and injustice, he reddened his face with Hormuz soil and held a broken image of a woman’s face and took a photo of himself. The image was reflected in virtual space and Iranian news agencies. This act was a type of protest performance that symbolically showed blood, violence, and resistance. Later, this image was published on the cover of one of his books.
Nadalian had collected all the other broken works. By arranging the broken paintings together and creating a new narrative that these works are symbols of harmed women, the works were sold at higher prices. This process was an opportunity and now this issue has become a point of strength. Now Nadalian himself breaks the glasses and sells them as “wounded women.” This event later became a point of strength for women in that society and now they have a significant presence in public environments.
The Hormuz Island story is one of the most important manifestations of Ahmad Nadalian’s activist art, because here his activity went beyond merely educational and empowerment modes and clearly became social protest.
“Two days after being slapped, I painted my feelings on my face.”
Importance of This Action
This movement went beyond the level of women’s economic empowerment and became an artistic-social protest. As a social artist, with his own body and symbolic action, he showed his solidarity with Hormuz women.
In the path of social activism in the territory of Sangsar nomads, Nadalian has always tried to identify the dance steps of this ethnic group while paying attention to women’s clothing, and while supporting them, perform and document their dances. Perhaps for an international audience, it would be very strange that in Iran one must fight to dance.
In this path, many girls and women courageously accompanied me, and fanatics created problems for me and my companions in various ways. The future belongs to us. They cannot bear to see girls’ and women’s hair and oppose their dancing.
In late October 2014 in Isfahan, over several weeks, several young girls were targeted for acid attacks on their faces due to not having appropriate hijab. After hearing the news of acid throwing at women’s faces, Nadalian, with his wife’s help, performed works in protest of this issue. His intention was to sympathize with girls and women whose bodies and souls had been harmed.
Acid Attack Victims: Ahmad Nadalian’s Artwork, 2014
Other events that showed physical and psychological harm to girls and women always affected Nadalian’s artworks. Through various media, he shows the suffering of women who self-immolated and burned in fire.
During a trip to Ilam and when he was holding workshops for the province’s artists, on the day of women’s self-immolation in Ilam, with the participation of local artists, they performed the topic of self-immolation in the form of performance art and video art.
After hearing the news of a football-loving girl’s self-immolation in Tehran, he also performed a work. At that time, girls were not allowed to be present in football stadiums. For this reason, a girl had self-immolated.
Blue Girl Burned in Fire, video art published in virtual space, September 2019
After Romina’s murder by her father who killed her with a sickle, Nadalian performed another work.
Feminine Death and Masculine Murder, video work, June 2020
Girl with Cut Hair, Ahmad Nadalian, painting on canvas
In Iran, for women to be able to dance, we must fight. Perhaps in Western culture, many cultural matters are very common and normal. But in our country, through activism and risk-taking, conditions can be facilitated for women. In a series, Nadalian took old irons to a blacksmith and in collaborative work made cold weapons, swords, knives, and sickles. He gives these weapons to women.
“I gave the sharpened sword to my wife.”
Of course, these types of Ahmad Nadalian’s works and their photos are metaphorical and must be decoded. Here, giving weapons to women means giving them the opportunity to defend their own rights. In Iran, many sickles have cut women’s throats. They are defenseless.
Nadalian documents the unfortunate consequences that have occurred for women through photography and documentary making. This gravestone in Molla’s tekyeh on Hormuz Island is no longer visible due to renovation.
After Aida’s murder in Hormuz, he reflected her films and photos on social networks, and southern artists created new works with artificial intelligence that were republished.
A number of Nadalian’s works pay attention to racial issues and people of color. During a trip to Africa, in Zanzibar, Nadalian performed a piece called “Experience of Blackness in the Land of Blacks.” He wanted to experience being black.
During a trip to South Africa, he performed a work titled “Exchange of Black and White.” The skin pattern of African zebras that are abundantly seen in Africa inspired this work. Using black paint on white hands and white paint on black hands, Nadalian drew patterns to make them similar to each other.
Nadalian’s activist artworks are not limited to topics of destruction, environment, cultural heritage, violence against women, and social events. In a performance art, he targeted increasing poverty in society.
While publishing a video of himself on Instagram, Nadalian wrote: “I have been garbage collecting for years. I started new artworks. I know garbage collecting is not good. It’s not clean work and it’s very dangerous. Garbage is contaminated. But the age and educational level of garbage collectors is getting higher day by day. The distance between me and other garbage collectors has decreased.
There are many jobs that are dirtier than garbage collecting. In broad daylight, some people steal people’s property. Those who steal take refuge in Canada or better places.
Those who are partners in dirty work help.
Human rights advocates eat other humans’ rights. They launder money.
Therefore, there are much dirtier jobs than garbage collecting.
More dangerous than garbage collecting is doing cultural and artistic work.”
In Polur, Nadalian focuses more on the environment and Iran’s indigenous cultural heritage. But in Hormuz, Qeshm, and the territory of Sangsar nomads, by organizing women, he provides an environment for them to have equal rights. In Hormuz, Nadalian acted against restrictive limitations.
He pays attention to violence against women. Public reactions to the murder of Romina Ashrafi and the suicide of blue girls also have similar goals. However, Nadalian laid the groundwork for empowering Hormuz and Sangsar women in social and cultural fields. He has crossed the boundary of traditional aesthetics and turned art into a tool for social and cultural change. Nadalian’s reactions are often more individual, spontaneous, and less organized, and the possibility of forming organizations does not exist in Iran. Only a number of Nadalian’s works were performed in public environments. Nadalian often performs work in an environment without audience presence in non-public spaces and publishes them in virtual environments. Nadalian’s activities are more understandable within the framework of social and cultural development.
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