Anahita is a personal and performative exploration sparked by Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement (2022). Through experimental and often unpredictable performances in Turkey, Portugal, and the UK—using water as a primary element—I reimagine the ancient Persian water goddess, Anahita, who symbolises fertility, healing, and wisdom.

Red fabric is used to symbolise bloodshed, the womb, suffering, and power. It carries personal, mythological, and political weight.

This project weaves together lived experience with ancestral memory and cosmic mythology, emphasising the importance of ritual and inherited wisdom in personal transformation. Red was chosen in solidarity with Iranians facing repression, while physical acts in the water reference the torture of waterboarding—bringing attention to breath as a symbol of both life and liberty.

Working inside the confines of a fabric sack, or submerging myself in dark, open water, I push my body’s limits—navigating tension, air pockets, and disorientation. In this process, identity dissolves.

As I connect with ancestral and cosmic realms, I undergo a transformation—birthing personal power and a sense of belonging to something greater. Documenting the process through ritual action, poetry, recordings, and film, I merge personal, ancestral, and collective narratives. This work honours our interconnected struggles and shared longing for alchemy—invoking the goddess and moving through the underworld with intention and trust.