Saba Alizadeh

In Light and Soil, Saba Alizadeh recasts violent imagery from the Iran-Iraq war—used for propaganda by the Iranian state—by projecting it within the intimate spaces of a home.

These photographs often feature young men, once soldiers in the war, who lost their lives and became martyrs. The images featuring these men are often shown on posters, billboards, and murals, permanently transporting their faces to the public realm. In bringing the image of the martyr home, Alizadeh offers a new way of looking at war narratives, shifting the focus to a revival of empathy and prompting the viewers to consider the individuals impacted by the war. Alizadeh’s projection of the images in a new and private context restores the humane dimension of his subjects. He also provides the martyrs’ families with a safe space for commemoration, by symbolically bringing those young men back home.

The work of Saba Alizadeh is part of the group exhibition Space to Breathe, curated by Newsha Tavakolian and on display in the Grote Kerk Breda.