Rustam Conquers the Coronavirus Shahnameh masks

Iranian artist Yazdan Saadi uses stories from the 1000-year-old Persian epic, the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) as a metaphor for the fight against the coronavirus for his mask series. The hero Rustam battles a Corona Demon that takes seven deadly forms “just like the virus itself in all its sinister variants,” says Saadi: a lion, scorching desert, dragon, witch, enemy warrior, and demon ogre. Rustam conquers COVID-19 in his final challenge against the White Div (demon). The artist urges us to channel our inner Rustam to defeat this virus together.

Yazdan Saadi, Iran

2020

Designed in Rasht, Gilan, Iran

Made in Rasht, Gilan, Iran

Surgical face masks (polypropylene), acrylic paint, oil paint, hand-painted

Royal Ontario Museum
2021.22.1 –7, Generously supported by the West Asia Endowment Fund