this is not the last of it. (2023)

Video installation

TV, Directional Speakers, Frame. (8’ 54”)

Exhibited at Trinity Square Video as part of their “Borderless, Stateless” 2023 themed commission. Curated by Christina Oyawale and Karina Iskandrsjah.

The utilization of propaganda by systems of power around the world has played a significant role in legitimizing their existence and covering up their acts of violence toward their opposition. The Islamic Republic regime in Iran is no exception. The Iran-Iraq war in the 80s is a notable example of how public media was used by the Islamic Republic to glorify the regime's rhetoric of martyrdom and to conscript teenagers into the military. Later on, they televised public prosecutions of the political left, which resulted in mass executions and incarceration of the opposition. Currently, with the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution, the regime is again using public media to spread propaganda to legitimize their existence and acts of violence.

Conversely, the opposition outside Iran, particularly those who advocate for the return of the Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, have also employed propaganda to further their agenda. The last Shah was the leader of a failed dictatorship that ended with the 1979 revolution. Present day monarchists have been lobbying with Western politicians, working with media such as BBC, and portraying the pre-islamic revolution monarch regime as a more liberal and free alternative. The most recent visit of Reza Pahlavi to Israel, which was heavily covered by the media, and portraying Israel as an ally is a testament to the dangers of propaganda.

Obscure, esoteric, nostalgic, melancholic, alienating, and questionable things wash over us daily through different media. We are told to believe what they tell us with no questions. If we question any of it, every attempt is made by the systems to disarm us by labeling us as infidels, anarchists, socialists, anti-democracy, anti-Islam, and more.

Started in 2021, “This is Not the Last of It.” is the first iteration of a long-term research project that explores various forms of propaganda used by systems of power at different levels to legitimize their existence and actions.

The reference material for this iteration of the project are the archival footage from the documentary “Ravayat-e Fath” (The Chronicles of Triumph) directed by Morteza Avini on the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, which pushed the regime’s oppressive Martyrdom rhetoric which promised the end of suffering and start of a journey towards unity with god. This documentary featured interviews with soldiers (predominantly teenagers and working-class men) and videos from the frontlines and was narrated by Avini himself. The documentary made every attempt in legitimizing the death of people at war on both sides, romanticizing the 8 years of the Iran-Iraq war, and silencing the opposition, leftists, real stories, and horrors brought onto people as a result.

The devastating results of the campaign are still felt and linger over Iranians to this day.