In Uncaged, Sarrah Zadeh reimagines the mandala — a form often associated with spiritual harmony — as both a sanctuary and a battleground. The precise geometry holds a visual stillness, yet within it, symbols emerge that disrupt its symmetry, challenging the illusion of unbroken order.

The braided forms at the mandala’s center act as a counterpoint to constraint. They speak of personal agency, recalling the act of unveiling women’s hair — a quiet but powerful refusal to be silenced. Encircling them are repeated motifs of women in hijabs, forming the outer ring. Their presence is deliberate: a reminder of the systems that enforce uniformity, and the weight of expectations imposed on the body.

The palette of layered blues and violets was chosen for its dual nature — calming on the surface, yet carrying an undercurrent of tension. This visual softness allows the viewer to linger with the piece, creating space for contemplation before recognizing the political urgency embedded within it.

Created in response to the social movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, Uncaged is both personal and collective. As an Iranian woman, Zadeh draws from lived experience, yet her work speaks to broader truths: the universal desire for freedom, the resilience found in beauty, and the enduring human choice to resist disappearance.

From conception to completion, the work was approached as an act of intentional layering — both in meaning and material. The mandala’s construction required careful planning, each motif drawn and placed to maintain the tension between harmony and disruption. This precision mirrors the paradox at the heart of the piece: that liberation and constraint can exist within the same form, the same moment, the same life.