Peyman Fazeli

Drawn from the repetition of a sentence spoken by a girl who lost her eye—shot directly by security forces during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran. A refusal to regret. A refusal to fear.

A shared diary in Farsi/Persian, written by writers and artists across the globe. The neutrality of the language leaves every voice, every character, undefined. Identities blur, and what remains is a shifting, collective "I".

This drawing is part of an ongoing project exploring the keffiyeh as a complex and layered symbol. Beyond its origins, the keffiyeh stands as a political statement and a symbol of resistance. For me, it also carries memories tied to its use by the IRGC and pro-government figures in Iran during my youth. Through this work, I seek to reconcile those associations, recontextualizing the keffiyeh within its contemporary significance in my surroundings—the streets of the Netherlands—where it resonates with young activists standing in solidarity with Palestine.

A moment from the performance sessions Peyman Fazeli and Omid Kheirabadi, in collaboration with Kim Zieschang, Vanessa Schaller, Julia Nielsen, and Hana Kozma, during a four-month residency program at the Goethe-Institut, Rotterdam.

This installation is part of an ongoing project about the lives of former political prisoners and survivors of the mass killings in 1980s Iran, following the revolution. Wednesday’s Prison Series examines the weight of memory and the struggle for justice, focusing on silenced voices and untold stories of resilience. It invites reflection on the lingering effects of systemic violence and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

This installation is part of an ongoing project about the lives of former political prisoners and survivors of the mass killings in 1980s Iran, following the revolution. Namesake Prison Series delves into themes of identity, loss, and remembrance, shedding light on the erasure of lives and the resilience of memory. It prompts viewers to confront the legacy of oppression and the persistent fight for justice.

Toeslagen is a video work documenting the Dutch childcare benefits scandal through the perspectives of affected families and the activists supporting their fight for accountability. It begins with a banner-making event and concludes with a protest in Rotterdam, highlighting the resilience of the families and the solidarity of those organizing for justice. The work reflects on the power of collective action in the face of systemic injustice.

This video installation experiments with the symbolic and functional use of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, repurposing them into objects like toilet paper, coffee filters, bookmarks, socks, and clothing. It also incorporates geomapping masks as markers of their found locations, referencing specific addresses. Through satire, it reflects on the absurdity of the "new normal" and the strange, sometimes comical, ways daily life was transformed during the pandemic.

This piece is a downsized replica of the Dutch royal family’s throne, constructed from found wood and recontextualized in various ways. Sometimes placed upside down and filmed with an inverted camera, the throne appears upright while people in the frame are flipped, creating a surreal visual twist. This work employs dark humor to critique societal structures, suggesting they are out of place or fundamentally inverted, challenging notions of power and order.

This improvised performance explores the illusion of communication between two individuals speaking different languages—Farsi and Arabic. While it may seem to an unfamiliar ear that they are understanding one another, the interaction is marked by complete miscommunication. The work critiques orientalism, the tendency to generalize, and the homogenized perception of "the other," challenging notions of cultural and linguistic uniformity outside dominant narratives.

This plaster sculpture features two cracks on opposite sides, illuminated from within by a light. The work symbolizes the interplay between fragility and resilience, with the glowing interior suggesting hope, transformation, or hidden strength emerging from the fractures. It invites reflection on the beauty and significance of imperfections.