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The use of weapons in lieu with the title, demonstrates how violence creates a sense of distrust. This symbol of physical violence encapsulates the artist's struggle to come to terms with her own identity. Though the materials are layered on top of the flag, parts of the stripes can still be seen. This marks how remnants of one identity still exist and cannot be completely replaced. It is also a representation of how nationalism incites violence.

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By using the starred flag as the backdrop, she guides the viewer toward this traditional American model. But the maze of oriental fabrics is also laden with another history and points to other models. The East is famous for its decorative compositions, as it is for its textiles and fabrics precious commodities forever sought by the West.

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Artist's choices: collage of prints - perhaps from magazines or newspapers, layered images of dead bodies

Issue addressed: politicisation of identity, american nationalism corrupting viewpoints and identity

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your fragrance faded and left with the wind, i dont remember you anymore

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Artist's choice: bright fabrics, title, text in farsi on both american stars and iranian print

Issue addressed: losing an identity or not having one tied to a place/country - often for third culture kids. confusion of not knowing where exactly you are from

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your fragrence faded and left with the wind, i don't remember you anymore

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whatever we had to loose we lost, and in a moonless sky

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Artist's choice: use of american political propoganda in this flag

Issue addressed: how embedded  politics is in the identity of people - especially american people. rejecting these notions

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whatever we had to loose we lost, and in a moonless sky

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my country my religion - confessions collection

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50 flags 50 states
- each flag is different; has their own identity (another theme of identity)
2 iranian... she stopped because

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Artist's choices: flag quite covered

Issue addressed: flag is not a representation of identity but a piece of fabric

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Artists choices: irony. military equipment. american flag
Issue addressed: military culture, disiveness of war (ideology)

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Artist's choice: using military style equipment with the title

Issue addressed: the impact of war on one's identity. in relation to the title, the issues that it leaves on who one can trust as an adult

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Artist's choices: irony, usage of the word 'welcome', title, visible american flag

Issue addressed: identity of feelings welcome/accepted but being betrayed

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Distinct stylistic feature of material and flags

Repetition of the flag
Depicts different voices of actors

Traditional fabrics, symbols of Iran used to create versions of the American flag creates internal conflict
Use of army gear represents violence

Associated with pride and patriotism

Conflict between ideological and nationalistic violence

Use of titles and exclusionary language eg. ‘you’ or ‘us’

Creates barriers but conveys a sense of betrayal sometimes

Betrayal and discrimination based on beliefs, conveyed through use of Farsi text

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Artist's choices: patch of people, tassles covering flag, mirrors at top

Issue addressed:

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Artist's choices: iranian flag. covered to resemble fadedness. uses of figures and patches. arabic.

Issue addressed: dealing with loss of culture - how this links to identity

Our of the 52 pieces in the Flags collection, only 2 are Iranian flags

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Rahbar challenges the idea of having a ‘singular identity’ and puts an emphasis on intersectionality; about being Muslim and American. She sees faults and strengths in both and not having to choose between either. She uses contrasting fabric and representation of ideologies aims to challenge one’s ideas of identity and nationalism, claiming that they are social constructs (which is a juxtaposition to the current climate of relations).

She aims to shift the narrative from a focus on race, gender or religion - but these themes can still be interpreted by the viewer throughout her works. Rahbar instead sees strong political ideologies as a divider, commenting on the polarisation of todays society.

She wants people to strip back their identities and focus on who they are as humans, rather than what their token identifies are.

Rahbar challenges ideas on culture and identity, especially the idea of accepting the contradiction of being from two places which have such ‘different’ ideologies.

Essentially it is all about unity rather than conflict.

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Rahbar's work is from the perspective of someone who has a dual identity; she has a deep cultural connection to Iran but was raised America. She aims to challenge ideas of nationalism and discuss identity instead of other factors that people may use to identify themselves.

Her voice is personal and conveyed through her works. However, her perspective remains relatively neutral despite the connections to her cultural roots in the Middle East. There is still some cultural appreciation of the West.

Her Flags collection, in particular, focusses on a more vulnerable aspect of her voice. When observing her works, you too feel conflicted.

There is a multitude of voices portrayed through this collection but especially those of civilians who were oppressed.

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Mixed media artist
Born in 1976, in Tehran
Family fled during the Iranian Revolution
Has lived and worked in both Tehran and New York
Work is inspired by personal experiences
Addresses themes of belonging and identity
Social commentary on todays political climate

Hates being referred to as 'Iranian-American'. Says she is a human being living on the planet earth.