In the summer of 2001, the strangled bodies of a number of women were discovered in Mashad, a holy city that is a pilgrimage site for Shi’ites visiting the shrine of Imam Reza. The city’s piety is mixed with the realities of modern life. Like most Iranian cities, the main form of public transportation is the shared cab, in which men and women who are otherwise strangers are crammed together. The cabs have also become a main site for prostitution. Angered that his wife had been mistaken for a prostitute as she rode in a cab, Sa’id Hana’i was spurred to kill women he believed to be prostitutes. At the time of his arrest, he confessed to killing sixteen women whom he lured to his house, where he strangled them sometimes using their veils. The killings were dubbed ‘the spider murders’ after the way Hana’i preyed on powerless victims.
Some of the murdered women had been previously arrested for prostitution or drug-related crimes. Major newspapers published the women’s police mug shots and photos from the crime scenes. The evocative photos of veiled women posed as criminals or as corpses heightened the anxiety over the serial killings.
Hassanzadeh’s own artistic intervention on the killings, a series of artworks entitled Prostitutes, extends this sense of probing ambiguity. Using a mixed-media technique of silkscreens and painting, Hassanzadeh reconfigures the mug shots and crime scene photos. Ways of seeing the images shift, the state’s documentation of criminality is transformed into the artist’s commentary on society. What remains, Hassanzadeh’s pictures remind us, is the women’s gaze, at once diffident and defiant.
“No series was more bitter than Faheshe/Prostitute. This series was based on brutal serial murders of prostitutes in Mashad and I finished the works as the events were taking place. Such a crime was unheard of in Iran. Yet despite its shocking nature, there was very little official and media coverage. In periodicals, the published images of all 16 victims together could fit in a 6×4 cm frame. I decided to draw a portrait of each woman using the brightest of colors to honor their hopes and dreams. And I wanted each portrait to be so large, so bold that no one could turn away from it. The series is a portrayal of innocent human beings who have paid a heavy price just to eke out a living. In the series, they are staring directly into our eyes and pleading their innocence.” Khosrow Hassanzadeh, 2005
It is worth mentioning that the color black was only added to my paintings in the series War. My earlier dreams and colorful aspirations gave way to darker subjects. But no series was more bitter than Faheshe/Prostitute. These series was based on brutal serial murders of prostitutes in Tehran and I finished the works as the events were taking place. Such a crime was unheard of in Iran. Yet despite its shocking nature, there was very little official and media coverage. In periodicals, the published images of all 16 victims together could fit in a 6×4 cm frame. I decided to draw a portrait of each woman using the brightest of colors to honor their hopes and dreams. And I wanted each portrait to be so large, so bold that no one could turn away from it. The series is a portrayal of innocent human beings who have paid a heavy price just to eke out a living. In the series, they are staring directly into our eyes and pleading their innocence. They were the same idealized women of my previous paintings who have suddenly become victims without refuge in real life. No opportunity has been given to exhibit this series in Iran.
Khosrow Hassan Zadeh has a dark take on contemporary Iranian life. His series of large monotypes, “Faheshe / Prostitutes“, (2002) pays homage to the victims of the Mashhad serial killer. The images are taken from police portraits of local destitutes / prostitutes that were then published in newspapers – photographs that facilitated the murder of these women by a self-appointed moral “avenger”, Said Hanaii. Considered a hero after his arrest, the killer’s surprised reaction at the judges sentence acts as a testimony to his belief in these acts of atrocity. Prior to his execution, he and his supporters continued to expect the government to show leniency, believing him to be a hero for maintaining moral values. This is further contextualized by Maziar Bahari with the chilling documentary “And Along Came a Spider”, 2002.
Once a Basidji, or volunteer soldier, Hassan Zadeh recognised the distorted ideology behind the criminal’s motivation. Hassan Zadeh, who is inspired by both his sur- roundings and by real events, is now a self-taught artist and poet, with a fascinating life story that has been the subject of various documentaries by the bbc and Arte.