Monument Zero

2025, Framer Framed, Amsterdam.

Monument Zero is a publication developed through an intergenerational, collective feminist practice that addresses the historical erasure of the International Women’s Day protests of 8 March 1979 in Iran, while tracing the continuity of feminist struggles from that moment to the present. The publication engages these erased histories not only as past events, but as living conditions whose political, social, and affective resonances continue to shape contemporary struggles. Absence, preservation, and transmission become central concerns, foregrounding collective authorship and feminist archiving as forms of resistance.

Edited by Niloufar Nematollahi and Jose Rosales, and initiated by Katayoon Barzegar, the publication unfolds across three parts, combining essays, archival materials, and visual contributions. It brings together historical analysis, artistic reflection, and primary sources to examine how feminist struggles are remembered, fragmented, or rendered invisible over time.

Part I presents critical and reflective texts responding to the remaining traces of 8 March 1979 and the conceptual framework of Barzegar’s installation. Contributions include essays by historian Shirin Karimi, researcher Elaheh Soroushnia, and artist Pegah Pasalar, interwoven with the visual essay Sensorial Remembering by Meshkat Talebi.

Part II gathers original archival materials from the 1979 protests, including a first-hand account by revolutionary and translator Taraneh Haeri, a collection of protest slogans, and previously unpublished photographs by Sophie Keir, archived at the Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir. These materials function as fragile yet vital records of collective feminist resistance.

Part III returns to the installation Monument Zero, concluding with an interview with Barzegar that reflects on the shared themes of the publication and exhibition: memory, monumentality, erasure, and the politics of artistic preservation.

Monument Zero is published by Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons and supported by Mondriaan Fonds and Cultuurfonds.