IRAN UNVEILED

Iran Unveiled
2024

The photographs featured in this reportage span the period from September 2022 to March 2024.

© 2024 Gaia Light

“Iran Unveiled” is an independent investigative endeavor that comprises photographic stills sourced from an Internet-based live-streaming security webcam stationed in the streets of Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

This project exposes the dual nature of surveillance: initially designed for control, it paradoxically harbors the potential for empowerment. Exposing the vulnerability of unsecured cameras initiates crucial discussions about safeguarding privacy and civil liberties in our digital era to foster awareness and catalyze widespread dialogue.

In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s tragic assassination by the Iranian moral police in September 2022, I have meticulously photographed daily from the screen of a computer, capturing live-streaming footage from a commercial platform’s security camera, freely accessible online, situated in a Tehran pedestrian area. This independent oversight has allowed me to document the increasing presence of women walking the streets with their hair uncovered, unveiling an extraordinary narrative of courage and resistance and spotlighting the steadily growing number of Iranian women boldly challenging the regime’s strict dress code.

Beyond its investigative aspect, “Iran Unveiled” also serves as a tribute to Iranian women, honoring their courage and revolutionary spirit in their ongoing pursuit of freedom. The project emerges as an impassioned endeavor driven by the unwavering determination to amplify a revolution’s resounding call.

Even in the midst of the fading media spotlight and society’s desensitization to the anguish and suffering endured by others, the plight of Iranian women beckons for transformative change – a clarion call that transcends boundaries, becoming a universal anthem of empowerment. It serves as an enduring reminder that change, however daunting, remains within our grasp.

As the latest multimedia installment in the “Mass Surveillance” Project, “Iran Unveiled” is part of a long-term, independently curated investigative series. Initiated in 2011, this series comprises still photos, screenshots, and video recordings appropriated from publicly accessible webcams on the Internet. Its primary objective is to raise public awareness and denounce the alarming proliferation of platforms and websites that indiscriminately distribute surveillance footage from security cameras across the digital landscape, regardless of their origin.

Copyright © 2024 Gaia Light