ACID ATTACK SERIES. SANYA TORKMORAD-JOZAVI, COSTUME ARTIST, LCF, UAL (ALUMNI).
I tackle issues of power struggles between gender, in relation to my Persian heritage. The concept of an imposed identity based on the representation of Iran and how a mass of people are dictated and defined by others, I work to challenge this through performance and the use of costume to communicate. Through the body, abstracting oneself inspired by past and present symbols of identity of race, gender and culture, I aim to create new meaning, and show how we are the source of definitions. In the series ‘Acid Attack’ – Since the increasing reports of attacks towards Muslims, impacted by ISIS and Brexit referendum, as an Iranian born in London, I have felt vulnerable to these attacks due to my appearance. Through performative art I wanted to capture these repeated acts of violence by solidifying the verbal and physical experiences Islamic women in particular are subjected to. The photograph is of myself in Iranian female dress, and the use of white paint being a reflection of the white men behind these unprovoked acid attacks, addressing the problem that these men feel the need to actually deface someone who poses no actual threat but due to their appearance are targeted.
BODY POLITIĆ. // 117