JR supportS Iranian women with large-scale installation

 

JR’s latest performance is an active standpoint promoting solidarity with the women of Iran. This time, the French artist and photographer sets up an interactive installation illustrated by hundreds of people gathered at Four Freedoms Park in New York City. The crowd stands next to a giant portrait of another female victim of Iran, animating the silhouette of her hair. The face on the colossal print belongs to teenager Nika Shakarami, who was killed in September 2022 after taking part in a protest against the death of Mahsa Jina Amini. Amini was detained and killed by the morality police in Tehran for breaking Iranian law by not wearing her hijab properly.  

 

In Jr’s Instagram post, volunteers dressed in black cheer slogans for Iranian women and wave their arms to animate the hair of the teen girl.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by JR (@jr)

 

 

a powerful illustration of the unjust Iranian regime

 

Following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, the U.N. is set to vote later this month regarding the removal of Iran from the commission on the Status of Women. To support the expulsion of the country before the vote, an ongoing global action dubbed Women Life Freedom expresses their solidarity through a series of public art installations across U.N. headquarters. Taking part in the initiative on December 4, JR invited volunteers to take place clothed warmly in black to amplify the mission of #WomanLifeFreedom. More than 300 hundred people attended FDR Four Freedoms State Park and raised their voices for female rights, ‘creating the hair of Nika Shakarami,’ as the artist mentioned in an Instagram post.

JR protests against iranian regime with volunteers depicting a collaborative portrait
the interactive installation took place at @4freedomspark with the support of the people

 

 

‘The upcoming vote on December 14 is critical in setting the tone on what happens next because the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women is a normative body. It exercises global leadership in setting the norms on what gender equality and women’s empowerment should be,’ says Gissou Nia, an Iranian-American human rights lawyer and spokesperson for the Women, Life, Freedom campaign.

 

‘So, it’s nothing short of outrageous to suggest that the Islamic Republic of Iran should have any part of a commission like that. They absolutely should not and we all have a responsibility to speak up and urge the Commission to do the right thing.’

JR protests against iranian regime with volunteers depicting a collaborative portrait
a touching call about the unjust restrictions for women in Iran

 

 

‘The world’s eyes have been focused on the courage of Iranian citizens in their quest for freedom, in the face of increasingly grave danger,’ said human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam Mackay. ‘The Islamic Republic has censored them and attempted to blind the world to the potential of this movement. Eyes on Iran is our response to their call for a free Iran.’

JR protests against the iranian regime with volunteers depicting a collaborative portrait in NY
a street installation against the Iranian regime