An Eye for Freedom

During the demonstrations Iran after Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022, hundreds of protesters were shot in the eye. Human rights organizations have called this a state tactic and a systematic oppression of those who stepped out and protested the regime.

Photographer Javad Parsa has portrayed some of the protesters who were shot, and who are now receiving eye treatment in Italy, Germany and Turkey. The photo series is part of the award winning photographer's project “I’m Now” where he meets and photographs exiled Iranians across the world.

“Everyone I spoke to hoped one day to return home — but to a country where we can vote in truly democratic elections, dress the way we like, choose our own religion, and speak, and photograph, freely. The collection of my photographs tells the story of exiled Iranians all over the globe”, he says.

Javad Parsa is an exiled Iranian himself, who was forced to flee the country in 2009, when his photographs of the uprising after the presidential elections were published internationally. Now, he lives in Norway where he works as a staff photographer in the news agency NTB. He won the Norwegian Photo of the Year award in 2022 for his photo of exiled Iranians watching news from Iran on TV.

The exhibition An Eye for Freedom opens 31 January in Popup Studio at the Nobel Peace Center. On the opening night, you can meet Javad Parsa in a conversation about photography and activism in Iran.