Collaging Polemic Jewelry: Re-envisioning our Places as Iranian Women in Public Spaces

Abstract

This thesis investigates Iranian women’s places in public spaces by collaging with jewelry concepts that provoke critical discussions and re-envisioning with women in my family. The concept of polemic jewelry emerges as a key point representing the strong connection between the body and jewelry. The possibility of wearing polemic jewelry in public spaces could be considered as a political portrayal of female bodies’ resistance to social and political constraints. Autoethnography and collaging are the frameworks employed for the research process. These methods came together both iteratively and in dialogue, allowing us, myself and family members, to explore our present realities while creatively re-envisioning our future places. My reflections and creations, in dialogue with my family members’ contributions, collectively respond to how we experience various societal and cultural constraints on our bodies in public spaces. The whole research process is a collage, literally and metaphorically, of stories, visualizations, and interactions between the participating women, including myself. Moreover, collaging enabled us to depict our different intersecting identities and reflect on them, especially the intersections of our identity that emerge as we change our places. This document is structured as an interplay between writing and collage-making to reflect how the methods came together to inform each other through a composite and layered process. The thesis culminates in two collages, incorporating concepts representing the research question and illustrating the collective answer to that question. My immediate goal, to initiate meaningful discussions and imagine a different society together, is achieved by sharing our stories and visions.