Ministry of Nomads

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Hassanzadeh's Faheshe (Prostitute) series is a testimonial to the women who were strangled in the 'spider murders' of 2001, in the city of Mashhad. The killings were allegedly carried out 'for the sake of god' and sparked a feverish debate. Hassanzadeh's works are based on police mug shots of the victims which appeared in newspapers. Silk screening, the technique made iconic by Andy Warhol, is used to reproduce their exact images on a grand scale, resulting in a sense of urgency and directness that instantly binds the viewer to the picture. This confrontational quality challenges the audience on a number of levels, promptly shifting the focus away from the abstract sociopolitical implications of the murders. Instead Hassanzadeh has paid tribute to the individual stories of sixteen women who died, subject to a system that fiercely condemns prostitution yet demonstrates an equally high demand for working girls.