Red Uprising
Collection Focus: Capricornia Printmakers
My work, “Red Uprising,” responds to “Red Meditation” by David Rankin. At first glance, the white dots distinctly symbolised masses of people, specifically protesters in Iran uniting for their basic human rights on the brutal ground.
Replacing the white dots with white running horses, dancing girls, and clouds—all moving forward—showcases the consistent bravery and defiance that keep the hope of freedom alight.
After years and months of resistance against the oppressive regime, the defiance has seen people, especially women and girls, dancing, singing, and playing music in public as a protest against the dark, ideological control of the regime. In a country where people are shot and imprisoned for showing their hair, the movement has witnessed shop owners rewarding customers grappling with rising everyday expenses by offering a giveaway if they dance. Couples are dancing and singing on busy streets, while prisoners sing their hearts out with songs of freedom to - the seemingly victorious - visiting judges and judicial officials.
In my work, as a parallel landscape, red and soft, hundreds of clouds of hopeful dreams rise to reside over the people who are dancing their way forward.
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Thank you, Jonathan McBurnie and Emily Wakeling, for your vision and trust in including local artists, and thank you, Robert Connell, for working with us and supporting the development of this diverse exhibition.