Parastou Forouhar, born in 1962 in Tehran, Iran, is an internationally known artist and human rights activist. Living and working in Germany since the early 1990s, she is a powerful voice of resistance within the Iranian exile community and diaspora. Through various media, including calligraphy, photography, digital drawing, and site-specific installations, Forouhar addresses themes such as human rights violations, political repression, religion, gender, identity, and migration. She has received numerous prizes and scholarships and is a professor at Kunsthochschule Mainz.
Forouhar grew up in a dissident family in Iran. In 1998, her parents, prominent opposition politicians, were brutally murdered - presumably by the Iranian Secret Service. This marked a turning point in her life. “This moment slowly turned into a fight. A fight to shed light on political murders in Iran, but also a fight for respect for those who think differently; for the rights of minorities; and for those who do not conform to the regime, like my parents.”, she says.1
Her perspective and commitment were shaped by that experience. Since then, she uses her art as a weapon to reflect on complex social and political issues, as well as a refuge and an expression of pain and responsibility:
“From my point of view, everything in the world has to do with politics - including art. Because we humans live in a society, and how society and people’s relationships with each other are structured is governed by politics.”, she notes.2
Beyond her art activism, Forouhar’s political engagement extends to supporting protests against the Iranian regime; investigating in the solving of the murders in 1998; organising an annual memorial for her parents in Teheran; and advocating for the release of political prisoners.
Visual Impact:
Parastou Formular’s work revolves around the tension between beauty and brutality. Her motifs often show aesthetic forms and colours that, at a closer look, reveal scenes of violence, injustice and inhumanity.
She uses ornamental structures to express herself, seeing them as a universal language. With their familiar and appealing appearance, she invites viewers to reflect more deeply as they immerse themselves further into the image. While the surface may look beautiful and simple, there are more complex ideas hidden underneath. Incorporating traditional Iranian motifs like Islamic calligraphy and Persian miniature painting, she challenges the Western gaze as well as perceived stereotypes and cultural identity.
These “patterns of violence” are, for instance, shown in the series “1001 Days” or “Butterfly” where seemingly beautiful shapes and colors are constructed from small, faceless figures experiencing horrific scenes of cruelty and torture.
Another fascinating example of her work is the series “Signes”, where she employs the simple visual language of pictograms to critique gender roles. Meanwhile, they also address broader themes of inclusion, exclusion, and western perceptions of the East.
Forouhar’s art has been displayed in renowned international venues like MoMA in New York, but she also exhibits in public spaces to engage a wider audience and spark public conversation. Despite experiencing restrictions and censorship for her artwork in Iran, she has managed to show her work - if not in physical exhibitions, then through digital platforms, enabling global access.
Her work is an important example of art activism, using representation and mediation as practices of resistance that foster cross-cultural communication and raise awareness of socio-political issues.
Text by Luka Ahrens
