Yalda Eskandari

“Certified Copy” Project 

Recently, an anonymous source released a hidden archive of photographs from 200 years ago in Iran. This discovery was deeply exciting for me, as it offered a chance to explore the history and lived experiences of women in my country through visual documentation. Among the images were censored photographs of female bodies, strikingly reminiscent of a tree behind a fence-a poignant metaphor for confinement. 

Using a photocopy machine, I transformed it from a tool of replication to an instrument of resistance. Through deliberate manipulation, I sought to challenge the reality I believe persists: that women, even today, remain metaphorically-and sometimes literally-behind fences.