Sounds of Freedom

Sounds of Freedom centres the courage of Iranian women who recorded lullabies in their regional dialects despite the restrictions placed on women’s public voices. Through a touch-sensitive map of Iran, visitors activate these recordings region by region. Songs traditionally confined to private and domestic spaces are allowed to occupy the gallery openly and collectively.

In the twenty-first century, the repression of women’s voices and linguistic diversity cannot be excused as tradition: it is a form of political control over who may speak, sing and be heard. Created in solidarity with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the installation preserves each voice in its linguistic specificity while carrying it beyond the borders imposed upon it. Here, listening becomes both recognition of individual courage and a refusal of enforced silence.