Shima Taj Bakhsh: Soft Collapse

Soft Collapse centers on Kaboutar ( کبوتر( the Persian word for pigeon, a shifting persona that moves between biographical research, history, and fiction. The project began with an anonymous gravestone bearing the name Kaboutar in a cemetery in my hometown. Over time, encounters with others who carried the same name led to research into the lives of a poet, a warrior, a burglar, and a political prisoner. Though separated by time and circumstance, their stories converge around survival, resilience, imagination, and the daily negotiation of oppressive social and political structures.