Category: Safe Havens

In her work “Sanzhyra” Peri refers to the genealogical book, an ancient spiritual heritage of the Kyrgyz people, that was disseminated orally from generation to generation. This knowledge serves as a means of familiarising individuals with their ancestors and relatives, with the primary objective of preventing incest. In her installation, Peri highlights the absence of female names in her family’s lineage, a genealogical tree that disregards their vital roles and denies their contributions. Through her work, Peri seeks to reclaim the place and recognition of these women.

– During my childhood, we were instructed to become familiar with the names of our relatives and to trace our family lineage predominantly on the paternal side (we were required to know 7 names of our paternal side), where female names were notably absent. My sisters and I frequently questioned this practice, as we were unable to find the names of our grandmothers and mother. We experienced a strong sense of injustice and decided to write our names in the book after our father’s names – it was so much fun, Peri recalls.

In Kyrgyz culture, Sanzhyra is often depicted as a tree. In her own female Sanzhyra, Peri employs a metaphor of tree roots, creating a network of women that symbolises the fundamental origin of any genealogy. Alongside large, white roots resembling long white braids of her grandmothers, there are faces of her colleagues and friends, women from MoFA+, connecting several generations of women. This installation effectively weaves together the subtle presence of heroic female figures of the past with contemporary activists fighting for female rights, making it a vibrant representation of the vital force that sustains our lives.

Leaving Home, Finding Self

In Myanmar, homosexuality and transgender remain criminalized under Section 377 of the Penal Code, a colonial-era law introduced by the British rule in the 19th century. Still in force today, it carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

After leaving Myanmar, Eddie began to experience a sense of freedom from the country’s deeply homophobic policy and environment, but that freedom came at a cost, leaving behind the Burmese people, leaving home.

— It felt like two separate journeys happening simultaneously. Yes, I had to leave home; it was devastating, and living in exile carries a heavy burden of survivor’s guilt. But at the same time, I am finally able to dress how I want and be who I am as a queer person. Part of me feels liberated, safer, and freer. I am becoming a truer version of myself. And thankfully, along the way, I also found my community with other queer Burmese people in exile, Eddie says.

This dual experience of navigating identity, freedom, and belonging deeply informs Eddie’s work. For example In their film JuJu vs The Possibilities of Love, Life & Death? (2024). The story follows the protagonist JuJu, a Burmese trans femme working at an independent cinema in Bangkok. While there, she encounters another Burmese man, who may or may not have romantic feelings for her. What unfolds is a series of conversations and imagined scenarios in JuJu’s mind, exploring the power of queer representation in mainstream media, queer identity, stereotypes, and the search for love.

Reborn in Dark Mytholog

After a temporary farewell to acting, Saba became interested in the theoretical side of art, particularly art history. She studied The History of Modern Art and The History of Modern Sculpture independently, and researched motifs in Iranian fabrics and pottery, as well as modern painting in Iran. These studies of visual traditions and symbolism, especially those rooted in mythology, have become the main inspiration for her artistic work now.

During her artist residency in Norway, Saba developed a new way to connect her past and present, merging performance and visual art into a distinctive practice. She once again dressed up as characters, but this time used her body and gestures not only as expressive tools, but also for mark-making, storytelling, and reclaiming her voice through the whole process of image-making.

— For example, in Fairy Invoker, I draw from Iranian folklore about the Fairy Caller, who traps fairies for good or bad purposes, some to save the world, others to destroy it. I imagine myself as one of these trapped fairies, each carrying different emotions and stories: fleeing, struggling, angry, calm, or meditative. I set up my camera to capture my movements and gestures as those fairies. Later, I drew the characters I once created and performed, Saba says.

— This is where my artistic practice lives, connected with storytelling, memories, and folklore. I want to explore what lies between reality and the supernatural; the visible and the invisible; the spoken and the unspoken. My performances are based on imagination, ancestral ghosts, childhood fears, and playful spirits. For me, life is aligned with magic, talismans, jinns, demons, fairies… Saba says.

From prison to Safe Haven and the rebirth of an artist

Since 2011, Pouya has expanded his work to include theatre, juggling the roles of musician, actor and director. His music has gradually transitioned into the more experimental and electronic realms. In May of 2024, he travelled to Norway to partake in Safemuse’s Safe Haven artistic residency program. The first part of his artistic residency was spent in the idyllic coastal town of Hvitsten, organised in collaborations with our local partner Hvitsten Salong. Thereafter, Pouya has spent the second part of his residency in Oslo, in collaboration with our partner Nordic Black Theatre.  

Through the Safe Haven program, Pouya has continued to evolve as a multidisciplinary artist and developing his creative practice through a blend of music, performance and theatre. Since arriving in Norway as an artist-in-residence, he has composed several works and performed at Ultimafestivalen – the largest contemporary music festival in the Nordic region, as well as Hvitsten Salong and at Caféteatret.

— When I arrived Norway and could breathe out after so many years of living in a state of exception and survival mode, I also realised that I was worn-out after having denied and neglected my own needs and wellbeing. I realised the constant fear I had been living under and how worn-out I was. Living in Hvitsten surrounded by beautiful nature, I was for the first time feeling everything I had not had the chance to feel prior to arriving Norway, especially related to my experience in prison and how hard it had actually been, Pouya says.

The residency coordinator in Safemuse Jon Lundell, is one of many that have worked with Pouya since his arrival to Norway and been impressed by his dedication, versatility and courage to explore new artistic directions:

— Pouya have been exploring and digging deeper in composing new music for different scenes in Oslo and Hvitsten; commissioned work that has challenged him to seek new ways of composing and combining digital and analog instruments and sounds. He has also taken the work with his play Prison Episodes further and is developing it with different artists and partners.

In 2015, Pouya released his first album “Lullaby and Down the Quod” based on his own experience as a political prisoner. His second album, “Prison Episodes” (check out the Bandcamp link), which was released in 2019, was inspired by his study of other Iranian prisoners’ experiences. During his residency in Norway, Pouya’s main artistic ambition is to complete his project Prison Episodes which he has been developing over many years. Together with Safemuse, partners and other artists, Pouya is planning a multidisciplinary performance that combines music, dance, theatre and visual technology to tell the story of the tragedy of political prisoners and their subjection to torture, suffering, solicitations and death. On top of that, he has also begun to record a new album, which he hopes to release in 2026.

Pouya says he has learned a lot of things through the Safemuse residency, not just artistically, but about life and himself:

— I love my culture and I cannot cut that string, but now I am in a position to decide how I want to work with it and to tell my story. To have artistic freedom now is a totally new feeling for me. I didn’t know how it would feel. When I look back at this short period I have worked in freedom, I can see that things have started changing in the ways that I think and create art. When you no longer have barriers in your mind, you starts to think differently and your passions start changing. With no imposed limitations, I think my artistic language has already started to change. I feel like the blinds are gone. While I have been working on my newest album, I can see that I am going in new directions that I would never have imagined before.

Safemuse looks forward to continue the collaboration with Pouya and share more about his upcoming events and projects!