The ads feature the flags of the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Angola with a tag line reading, “No one will keep us from seeing.” The human rights violations include executions, torturous activities, exploiting children as warriors and more.

Advertising Agency: Air Brussels-Paris, Belgium
Creative Director / Copywriter: Véronique Sels
Art Director: Marine Vincent
Photographer: Chris Van Beek
Graphic Designer: Oliier Gillard
Published: April 2008

Sara Rahbar was born in Tehran Iran in 1976.  She left Iran with her family during the revolution in the  beginning of the Iran Iraq war.  But having to escape her own country, leave her family behind, and  abandon her home because of a war, and a revolution that had nothing to do with her, left a gap in her.  Through out the years she has killed off dealing with the frustration, and confusion left in her, and now through her work she is addressing it.  Rahbar went on to study Fine Art in London, and Design in New York.  Her work has been shown in various galleries, and museums all over the world.

Interview (May 2008):

As a global citizen, how important to you is breaking down barriers [through your work, and otherwise] between countries and cultures – to look at the identities of global citizens as *Human Beings,* without the lines-in-the-sand and borders that separate, divide, and create difference between people and communities?

SR: A lot of my pieces focus on just that concept of breaking down barriers. My work addresses identity, and the notions of invisible borders, whether they maybe cultural or geographical. I question the concept of belonging, as I don’t believe in the borders created by the devotion towards a flag, a country, or, a religion, so than what do we belong, or not belong to when its all imaginary and made up by us. Through my work I want to remind people that we have built these imaginary borders, and only we have the power to take them down.

One of the challenges at hand is that we have made our personal identities so important and supreme above all. We believe that it is our countries, our nationalism, our religions, our cultures, our beliefs and so on, that make us who and what we are. And this has become eminent above all to the point that we are terrified of giving any of it up as we feel we would no longer be special, individual or important, and so we divide, separate, and label, and as a result give more fuel to the fire.

Read on…

This year Bremen, State Capital of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen will host the celebrations. In addition, various celebrations are held in the federal capital Berlin, mainly based on the Straße des 17. Juni and around the Brandenburg Gate.

In cooperation with the embassies of the Federal Republic of Germany in China, Iran and Indonesia Farbwerte organized exhibitions during “The Day of German Unity”.

So if you will be in Beijing (China), in Tehran (Iran) or in Jakarta (Indonesia) in October 2010, there is a chance to see some Farbwerte photo portraits:

Tehran: October 3
Jakarta: October 4
Beijing: October 8

The next Farbwerte exhibition in Berlin, Germany will be in November. More informations to come…

SCHIEN EIN PARADIES ZU SEIN!

Ohne Sprache, ohne kulturelle Identität, ohne Familie und Freunde → ernüchternder NEUBEGINN.

Heute: verheiratet, 2 Kinder und selbständig.

Habe Deutschland sehr viel zu verdanken und möchte diesem Land, auch durch meine Kinder, was zurückgeben.

DEUTSCHLAND wurde meine Heimat. Darüber bin ich angesichts der Entwicklungen sehr froh, denn mit Wehmut sehe ich die Unterdrückung von Demokratie, die ich ja sehr gut kenne.”

Dawud, Oktober 2009

Foto: Frank Rösner