FROM THE ARTIST: KATAYOUNA JALILIPOUR

“These images are created from 19th century Persian miniature drawings for the Sanskrit text, “Lizzat Al-Nisam” translating to “Pleasures of Women.” This manuscript is currently available in the UK but is banned in Iran. The manuscript excludes any imagery of queer couples, either due to erasure or historic censorship. Using digital image alteration, this series ‘queers’ heterosexual imagery to portray lesbian relationships instead. By removing heterosexuality from these paintings and placing women together in sexual and romantic settings, this portrait reclaims how queerness has always existed in Iran— and will continue to exist. This could be seen as a symbol of rebellion against the patriarchy, embedded in Iraninan women’s continuous fight for freedom, or in Farsi, ‘AZAADI.’”