“And yet, men remained oblivious to the enigma of women’s displacement. They presumed women to be possessions, objects they could carry with them wherever they pleased—unaware that these women had left their hearts behind, their spirits lingering beyond the mountains, far from the deserts, displaced, bewildered, and true mourners. To me, the nomadic women appeared, in one sense, to be the truest exiles, for their souls and minds had been torn apart from their being.”
Excerpts from Ego Monster
Dr. Sayed Bahauddin Majrooh, exiled Afghan Intellectual
Excerpts from Ego Monster
Dr. Sayed Bahauddin Majrooh, exiled Afghan Intellectual
My identity as an artist, host(gham khor), and interdisciplinary researcher is deeply rooted in the Persian/Shiite concept of grief gham(غم)—a complex notion of grief encompassing loss, displacement, and resilience. My artistic practice is in constant dialogue with both past and present, materializing through moving images, installations, digital curation, and speculative writing. Anchored in the cultural and historical intricacies of Iranian and Shiite traditions, I aim to reclaim narratives erased or suppressed by patriarchal archives—particularly those of women—while interrogating the geopolitical and socio-economic forces that shape grief. This commitment to exploring the aesthetics of mourning and the politics of representation has been profoundly influenced by personal experiences, academic challenges, and the socio-political realities of my homeland, Iran.
