Ghass Rouzkhosh (Iranian, b. 1964)

'Wild beasts kill only to eat. We insult them when we compare them to men, who shape a bloodstained history for reasons inconceivable to animals: that pure ferocity inherent in our nature. Vainly we tell ourselves that life comes out on top: in the final analysis its defeat is ineluctable, as the three colours in this picture suggest: black moves in, red endures, white fades as life leaks away. It is up to us to ensure that the martyrs were not tortured in vain. It is up to us to leave signs of life.' Stephane Guibourge, Ghass Rouzkhosh, Paris, 2007.