Photographer's Unique Protest Art Reflects on Iranian State Violence
A photographer, unable to return to Iran, has created a poignant body of work reflecting on state violence and repression. Using open-source protest footage, the artist isolates frames from videos and photographs them with a Fujifilm instax camera, transforming digital images into physical prints. This process, which began during the Iranian uprisings, serves as both a testimony and a form of mourning. In January 2026, following state massacres, the artist began burning these prints, allowing the fire to scar their surfaces as a symbolic act of resistance and grief. The work captures the defiance of protestors, particularly women, against state-imposed misogyny, and transforms these moments into enduring symbols of rebellion.