Sara Heidary MFA

"During the practical research and making of my collection, I discovered the potential of fabric as a material for making jewelry, how I could look at it like a canvas for paintings, or how I could play with it like a mold to make different shapes. Only then did I learn that the textiles in my work not only represent the hijab itself, but also give a body to the female body. 

When I started, I wanted to show the need of women to have equal rights in society, I wanted them not to be judged by their bodies and their looks , all I wanted and could think of was to tear up the textiles to destroy the covering function of the fabric. I wanted to give the garment a new role, a new function. My aim was to see a garment not as a means of concealment, but as a way of expressing oneself , a means of making people feel beautiful, powerful and free, to achieve this, I first had to destroy the character of the material. 

To literally destroy it, I was inspired by the women in Iran. The women who were fighting for their rights against the forced hijab took off their hijab in public and burned it, which I found to be a very powerful and emotional act of rebellion. The fire came in handy, for I was once a goldsmith. Destroying textiles with fire was not only an act of rage, but also a symbol of rebirth. Turning the burnt pieces of cloth into jewellery was like giving them a new life, a new task, a new purpose, a material used to oppress women transformed into the jewellery they wore to celebrate freedom. 

Another way of destroying the properties of the material was to give it the shape of the very thing it had to cover, the female body, the irony was showing the pain enough, I do not think. The pain and the psychological pressure that women have to endure all over the world, all the physical difficulties that they face on a daily basis are just so extreme that if you just give the textile the shape of their body, you do not see it or notice it , I had to empathise with their suffering of being confined in their home, in their community and in their country to picture this, so I creat the cages for my pieces, the painful and sharp wires that hold the bodies captive. They withstand the pressure until sometimes they get holes, the holes that are like the wounds of a woman's body that fights and fights the old battle every day. She never has the chance to fully heal or shine, but she never loses hope and the fight until the day she is seen as the equal human being that she is. On that day, it is time to embrace the wounds on her body and see her beauty. 

To help these women win their battle, they must first be seen, which is what I have tried to do with my collection, and secondly, they must be heard. They have so much to say, about their abilities, their opinions, their dreams, that are not heard or even given the chance to be said. The women who have been told to walk in such a way that their presence is not noticed, and therefore are not allowed to speak their minds or leave the house to participate in society as a person who is able to have professional opportunities such as a career or an education. 

To give these women a voice, I have made bells out of stones, they are strong, very striking and of course they have a loud voice. These pieces give the wearer the opportunity to be heard loud and clear. Because every noise they make is a strong statement for the presence of women in society, who are no longer silenced. 

I have made all the pieces in the hope that they would give the wearer the power to be loud and the power to be seen. To break all taboos and fear nothing. to be free from all the rules and pressures of society that try to hold them back from their full potential. Women's visibility is not just about their appearance, but about being seen as equal human beings in society and being given the same opportunities and possibilities to follow their dreams and desires."

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