Iranian artist exhibits The Body as Revolution
Exhibition criticises the Iranian regime for killing protestors seeking freedom
Goldstone Gallery curator Nina Sanadze reopened the gallery with a sense of urgency for her friend, Iranian artist Ramak Bamzar, amid the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters.
According to Iran International, over 35,000 Iranians have been killed in the recent protests. Goldstone Gallery closed due to security concerns after the Bondi attack, but will now open twice a week with bookings.
Bamzar’s exhibition, The Body as Revolution, features an installation of 300 photos of Iranians who have been killed by the Islamic Republic during the 2026 protests – women, men and children. Each photo is numbered – referencing how the regime numbers the dead bodies in plastic bags – but the photos compel us to look at the humanity which has been stolen.
“I had such an urge to do something because the numbers [of the dead] the Islamic Republic provided to the world were significantly different from what is really happening on the ground,” Bamzar told The AJN. “More than 35,000 people killed during protesting … They still have piles of bodies and families have to go through each body to recognise their beloved … So my intention was that people have to see these faces.”
Alongside the installation is her Pro Femina series, made during the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement in 2022 that emerged after Mahsa Amini was arrested for not wearing a hijab properly and died soon after, believed to have been beaten by the regime. Bamzar’s staged photos recall the Iranian women who have been shot in the eye and in the back during their protests for freedom.
Sanadze described Bamzar as “extremely courageous” and said the Goldstone Gallery is here to support people who want to speak out.
Bamzar has faced criticism from those who support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), while Sanadze was “cancelled” by artists for not supporting Hamas in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack. Bamzar’s work runs in parallel to the exhibition October 7: Atrocity, Antisemitism and Resilience. The wall of photos of Iranians killed sits underneath the upstairs wall of photos of Israelis killed at the Nova music festival. The exhibition highlights how artists and peace activists including Chaim Peri and Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, sought to construct a symbolic peace bridge to Gaza, and were killed by Hamas.
Tamar was murdered in her home with her husband and three young children, and Chaim was abducted to Gaza where he was killed. In another room, one can experience the stories of five survivors of October 7 through virtual reality.
At the opening of Bamzar’s exhibition on February 8, over 100 Jewish and Iranian attendees stood together at Goldstone Gallery to contemplate her work work in the spirit of friendship and allyship. Many Jewish people have joined marches to stand in solidarity with Iranian protesters against the regime.
Bamzar sees parallels in the silence of many progressives towards those killed in the Iran protests and on October 7.
“If you care about humanity, if you care about humanity in Gaza … you have to stand up for what’s happening here in Iran, or what happened on October 7.”
She said it was “disgusting” that US President Donald Trump is negotiating with Iran over the nuclear program and not about protecting human rights.
“Why is nothing happening? Why is everyone so silent?” she asks. Bamzar hopes the protests will lead to revolution and the end of the Islamic Republic.
The Body as Revolution is running until March 29, 2026
Bookings: goldstonegallery.com
Ramak Bamzar with her Pro Femina series at Goldstone Gallery. Photo: Sharyn Kolieb
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