‘Like a Hero’ by Afarin Sajedi.

The sitter in Sajedi’s is a powerful warrior and protestor. The use of mise-en-scene like the helmet, armour and spear symbolises a warrior ready for battle and there is no better battle than protesting for your own rights or the rights of others. The sitter is holding the spear inappropriately above the handle, and not wrapped around the handle showing that this protestor does not want to have a physical fight, but their prop is only for a ‘powerful’ display. As power only respects power. The sitter is also wearing googles/ glasses symbolising they have seen the non-see- able, they have watched the horrors of fighting in a protest. The tentacles can only be believed that they belong to an octopus; an octopus has a hidden meaning for intelligence, flexibility and expansion. The fact that the tentacles are immerging from with the sitter’s black filled body, amour and helmet/ head shows that their intelligence is overflowing out of themselves as they would rather negotiate peace and freedom from heart to heart, rather than fighting for it like savages. ‘Blood’ is running from the sitter’s nose and mouth shows that there has been a conflict of interest and violence has been committed. You can imagine that is this protester did not commit these actions first. The sitter is monochrome black with a full white background- this negative space symbolises a fallen warrior has gone to heaven, surrounded by purity with all their rights in an angel form.

‘Female mortar’ by an unknown artist

“Menstruation is the only blood that is not born from violence, yet it is one you disgust most.” – Maia Schwartz. This graphic illustration is inspired by this famous feminist quote. Women go through pain and turmoil every day and constantly get no recognition for powering through. This artist piece shows a naked woman’s body beheaded and nailed, hanging from a ‘cross’ shaped liked the female reproductive system; symbolising woman protestor/ mortar dying for the sins of the toxic people around them like Jesus Christ did. Her hands are nailed to the ovaries as most woman only have an upper hand on society by being able to get pregnant (from our eggs in the ovaries). Each element/ layer to this piece is a different block colour. The female body is a natural peach skin tone. The female reproductive system is a blood red colour symbolising menstruation and spiritually means power. Woman should have more power, as we only got our legal right to vote only under hundred years ago, even then it was only if we had a ‘husband who had land/property’. The background is black to symbolise fear. As society is afraid of a women’s periods, people are afraid of what they cannot understand. Someone headless can make you feel a bit surreal, distanced or separate, showing you that your head and heart are not in balance – one may be dominating the other. In this situation the sitter has picked her own women needs, over your head choices to be suppressed.