Polaroids in Blood

Polaroids in Blood is an ongoing photo project that raises the names of hundreds of people killed during this ongoing revolution in Iran which started September 2022 after Mahsa Zhina Amini's death. Their names, death and blood should not be forgotten.

On September 16th 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini was beaten to death by Iran's morality police for wearing her veil in a way that did not adhere to the country's dress code. Thousands of people have been arrested in the protests that began in connection with Amini's funeral and have since spread across the country. According to Iran Human Rights, hundreds of people have been killed for their involvement in the protests, including several children.

This photo project is dedicated to a bleeding Iran, to the hundreds of people in Iran who have lost their lives since the revolution began following Mahsa Zhina's death. Each photograph represents a name. Their names, deaths, and blood must not be forgotten; we must pay attention to each one of them.

Atoosa Farahmand, the initiator of this project, collaborated with the artist and professional nurse Golshan Green to capture 240 Instax photographs. The blood that was used in the process is Farahmand's own.

The blood was smeared on a glass surface and photographed with an Instax camera. When the smeared blood on a glass surface comes into contact with air and light, it transforms into different shades of red making each photo unique with varying shades of red and black.

This ongoing photo project was undertaken during a period of revolution in the diaspora, in exile from home, away from family, friends, and the community. Farahmand's decision to use her blood was a way to grieve for a bleeding Iran and to honour those who have sacrificed their lives for this ongoing revolution: Woman, Life, Freedom.