From "Iran beats in my heart" collection.
"A tree cut down does not lose its roots; it waits under the asphalt."
In this powerful 40 x 50 cm canvas, Maryam Dastgerdi honors the ecological and emotional heartbeat of Tehran. The title pays direct homage to the beloved, historic plane trees of Vali'asr Street.
Dastgerdi utilizes fluid, bleeding layers of rich crimson, bruised purple, and deep black acrylics to conjure the image of a scorched yet resilient tree trunk surging upward. Nested within the right branch is the artist's unique signature from this era: her first name, "Maryam" (مریم), beautifully stylized in neon-pink Farsi script to resemble a pair of scissors. Within the framework of the Woman, Life, Freedom series, this personal mark accidentally mirrors the profound themes of the movement—evoking both the pruning of the city's historic trees and Gisoo-boran (the defiant cutting of hair in mourning).
Applied in pink marker, both the signature and the lower-left dedication ("برای ولیعصر و درختان فرسوده...") have softly and naturally faded since 2022. This physical degradation adds a haunting, transient layer to the work, turning the passage of time into an active participant in a narrative about loss, memory, and enduring roots.
For the worn-out trees of Vali'asr
Original abstract painting.
Acrylic on Canvas
40* 50 cm
Rather than being housed in a traditional frame, the piece is presented in its raw, authentic state. The sides of the canvas are wrapped in heavy black canvas tape, creating a bold, industrial border. This self-framed, tactile finish anchors the organic chaos of the fluid paint, emphasizing the artwork's identity as a physical, immediate artifact of a historic moment of protest.
