Performance Art

Fortieth day

It is January 1404, although these days the body of Iran is full of anger, wounds, and pain, but it is full of light. 2025

I’m an Iranian Woman.

2019. Gorgan. Iran.

I would like you know that snow doesn’t fall in my country any more.

University Science Malaysia, Department of Art. 2011. Penang Island.

Suffering

In modern Life every day we carry a lot of suffering without knowing it. I surrender my suffering to the water so that I can walk more freely. In the second day suffering performance played with two stones. Banood Cave. Banood village. Assaluyeh. Iran. 2025.

Photographer: Maedeh Vakhideh

Suffering

In modern Life every day we carry a lot of suffering without knowing it. I surrender my suffering to the water so that I can walk more freely.

In the first day suffering performance played with one stone. Nayband Bay. Hale village. Assaluyeh. Iran.

Meditation for Escape from Fear, Day 6.

Creating art in new spaces always enhances my creativity and my connection with nature, and the exquisite nature at Bodhi Khaya offered me a unique and unforgettable experience. In my performance “Meditation for Escape from Fear” which took place over six days at four different sites, I found myself directly confronting an overwhelming fear each day: my fear of snakes. I originally wanted to confront one of my biggest fears—the fear of confined and narrow spaces. However, the snakes I encountered presented an even greater fear, one that had deep roots in my subconscious. I believe that by observing a snake quite close during the second day of the performance and by witnessing their presence daily, my fear of snakes has largely been eradicated from my unconscious mind. Light and brightness have triumphed over darkness and the devil. However, the most beautiful and significant part of the project was the performance on the fifth day when I found myself on a small beach in front of the De Kelders Caves. Being in this marvelous place, with its indescribable beauty, I was so excited to have the opportunity to perform in one of humanity’s earliest dwellings, with the waves of the Atlantic Ocean touching my feet. The lines I had drawn on that beach with the red earth of Hormuz Island in Iran, added a symbolic and powerful element to the performance, making the experience even more profound. Bodhikhaya Residency, 2024. South Africa.

Photographer: Bronwentrupp & Kiara Watermeyer South African Multidisciplinary Artist

Meditation for Escape from Fear, Day 5.

Creating art in new spaces always enhances my creativity and my connection with nature, and the exquisite nature at Bodhi Khaya offered me a unique and unforgettable experience. In my performance “Meditation for Escape from Fear” which took place over six days at four different sites, I found myself directly confronting an overwhelming fear each day: my fear of snakes. I originally wanted to confront one of my biggest fears—the fear of confined and narrow spaces. However, the snakes I encountered presented an even greater fear, one that had deep roots in my subconscious. I believe that by observing a snake quite close during the second day of the performance and by witnessing their presence daily, my fear of snakes has largely been eradicated from my unconscious mind. Light and brightness have triumphed over darkness and the devil. However, the most beautiful and significant part of the project was the performance on the fifth day when I found myself on a small beach in front of the De Kelders Caves. Being in this marvelous place, with its indescribable beauty, I was so excited to have the opportunity to perform in one of humanity’s earliest dwellings, with the waves of the Atlantic Ocean touching my feet. The lines I had drawn on that beach with the red earth of Hormuz Island in Iran, added a symbolic and powerful element to the performance, making the experience even more profound. Bodhikhaya Residency, 2024. South Africa Photographer: Tebuza Tebukhu South African Visual Artist

Mediation for Escape from Fear. Fear.Day 4.

Creating art in new spaces always enhances my creativity and my connection with nature, and the exquisite nature at Bodhi Khaya offered me a unique and unforgettable experience. In my performance “Meditation for Escape from Fear” which took place over six days at four different sites, I found myself directly confronting an overwhelming fear each day: my fear of snakes. I originally wanted to confront one of my biggest fears—the fear of confined and narrow spaces. However, the snakes I encountered presented an even greater fear, one that had deep roots in my subconscious. I believe that by observing a snake quite close during the second day of the performance and by witnessing their presence daily, my fear of snakes has largely been eradicated from my unconscious mind. Light and brightness have triumphed over darkness and the devil. However, the most beautiful and significant part of the project was the performance on the fifth day when I found myself on a small beach in front of the De Kelders Caves. Being in this marvelous place, with its indescribable beauty, I was so excited to have the opportunity to perform in one of humanity’s earliest dwellings, with the waves of the Atlantic Ocean touching my feet. The lines I had drawn on that beach with the red earth of Hormuz Island in Iran, added a symbolic and powerful element to the performance, making the experience even more profound. Bodhikhaya Residency, 2024. South Africa

Meditation for Escape from Fear, Day 3.

Creating art in new spaces always enhances my creativity and my connection with nature, and the exquisite nature at Bodhi Khaya offered me a unique and unforgettable experience. In my performance “Meditation for Escape from Fear” which took place over six days at four different sites, I found myself directly confronting an overwhelming fear each day: my fear of snakes. I originally wanted to confront one of my biggest fears—the fear of confined and narrow spaces. However, the snakes I encountered presented an even greater fear, one that had deep roots in my subconscious. I believe that by observing a snake quite close during the second day of the performance and by witnessing their presence daily, my fear of snakes has largely been eradicated from my unconscious mind. Light and brightness have triumphed over darkness and the devil. However, the most beautiful and significant part of the project was the performance on the fifth day when I found myself on a small beach in front of the De Kelders Caves. Being in this marvelous place, with its indescribable beauty, I was so excited to have the opportunity to perform in one of humanity’s earliest dwellings, with the waves of the Atlantic Ocean touching my feet. The lines I had drawn on that beach with the red earth of Hormuz Island in Iran, added a symbolic and powerful element to the performance, making the experience even more profound. Bodhikhaya Residency, 2024. South Africa.

Photographer: Ivuku Vuku 

Meditation for Escape from Fear, Day 2.

Creating art in new spaces always enhances my creativity and my connection with nature, and the exquisite nature at Bodhi Khaya offered me a unique and unforgettable experience. In my performance “Meditation for Escape from Fear” which took place over six days at four different sites, I found myself directly confronting an overwhelming fear each day: my fear of snakes. I originally wanted to confront one of my biggest fears—the fear of confined and narrow spaces. However, the snakes I encountered presented an even greater fear, one that had deep roots in my subconscious. I believe that by observing a snake quite close during the second day of the performance and by witnessing their presence daily, my fear of snakes has largely been eradicated from my unconscious mind. Light and brightness have triumphed over darkness and the devil. However, the most beautiful and significant part of the project was the performance on the fifth day when I found myself on a small beach in front of the De Kelders Caves. Being in this marvelous place, with its indescribable beauty, I was so excited to have the opportunity to perform in one of humanity’s earliest dwellings, with the waves of the Atlantic Ocean touching my feet. The lines I had drawn on that beach with the red earth of Hormuz Island in Iran, added a symbolic and powerful element to the performance, making the experience even more profound. Bodhikhaya Residency, 2024. South Africa.Photographer: Ivuku Vuku

© 2026 Farzaneh Najafi

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