Golden Tub
Golden Tub statement:
We all live within closed boxes (the realm of family) that even for those closest to us, guessing the contents within them seems impossible. As long as we ourselves do not open the box to someone else, its contents will remain like an enduring secret.
This construct is based on the concept of “breaking the golden cage,” narrating a relationship shaped by violence. This violence obscures the path of the relationship, creating confusion, and uncertainty about the future for both parties. It is a relationship that, by eroding an individual’s self-confidence, hunches their back and constricts their space.
Regardless of gender and the labels of perpetrator or victim, this relationship is built on a course of insignificant joys and false hopes for improvement.
The course is clearly illuminated by the faint glimmer of a golden cage that may one day entrap each of us.
The “golden Tub” is a testament to an internal violence unfolding.
Review by other artists
What do we know about violence? About abuse? Are we able to identify the red flags? When does an argument become abusive? Does our society acknowledge physical violence? Are there laws to protect us against domestic violence?
These are some of the questions that this project aims to address.
“Tashte Tala” or Golden Cage draws on the old Farsi saying that literally translates to “beheading someone in a golden tub”.
The artist borrows from the imagery and the metaphor behind this parable,to shed light on an aspect of domestic life in Iran that usually goes unacknowledged. Seeing violence as a vicious cycle, Yousefi aims to encourage discourse on the matter.
Maral Bolouri
Visual artist