Morad Tahbaz's Carpets
View Full Gallery
To commemorate the loss of his close friend and co-founder, Kavous Seyed Emami, who died in custody, he approached a prisoner who wove bracelets with string and and asked him to weave a series of them in navy blue with the motif of nine cypress trees—a symbol of freedom in Persian culture—representing the nine individuals who had been unjustly imprisoned. The bracelet weaver was unable to incorporate the design, merely inserting green lines in the dark blue background. That little exercise motivated Morad to look into woven designs.
He smuggled in a small pamphlet on tribal carpet designs and weaving methods. It took him some time to translate the design to paper—ratios, borders, grids—but eventually, between sketching wildlife with pen and ink, he began designing carpets and sneaking them out to his wife, who had them woven in tribal areas of Iran. Many of his early designs incorporated that very same cypress tree motif.
The carpets capture the story of his time at Evin, weaving together the threads of nature, imprisonment, and freedom. In most of his cypress tree carpets, there are nine trees—all are alive save for one, representing the loss of his dear friend.
Select images for more details
