Hoda Afshar

Magnum Square Print: Hoda Afshar

Sale launches Monday, March 23, 09:00 a.m. EDT.
Description

Untitled #14. From the series In Turn, 2023.

This body of work was made in response to the feminist uprising that began in Iran in September 2022, following the death of 22-year-old Jina Amini, who had been arrested by Iran’s morality police for not wearing the hijab properly. Afshar’s monumental photographs are a tribute and a testament to collective action and collective grief.

The women in the photographs are, like Afshar, Iranian Australians who have watched the protests unfold from afar. Dressed in black, they cluster together and braid each other’s hair. This is a direct allusion to the images on social media of women in Iran defiantly discarding the veil, and to a practice common among Kurdish female fighters who plait each other’s hair before heading into battle against the Islamic State. With their faces mostly hidden from view and their backs turned, Afshar’s subjects are surrogates for their brave sisters in Iran. The doves anchor the analogy; when protesters are killed in Iran, family and friends release birds into the sky.

The twines of a plait are referred to as pichesh-e-moo in Farsi, meaning the turn or fold of the hair. A revolution is a turning point, but it is never without loss.

© Hoda Afshar / The Photographers' Gallery

This print is hand-signed on an archival label to ensure authenticity and preservation, which is affixed to the back of the print.


The edition is available for purchase between:


Monday, March 23, 09:00 a.m. EDT
to Sunday, March 29, 11:59 p.m. EDT
All Magnum Square Prints come with a choice of three framing options: our standard custom wooden frame in black or white, or a new premium walnut frame.

Our premium walnut frames feature plexiglass on both sides, showcasing the signature label via a cutout on the rear. All of these contemporary custom frames are hand-crafted by expert framers.
In partnership with The Photographers' Gallery

Square Print Sale: Odyssey

Magnum Photos partners with The Photographers’ Gallery for the March 2026 Square Print Sale, Odyssey. Odyssey is more than a journey — it is a search for meaning, a crossing of thresholds, a story of growth and resilience. It is the pull of the unknown: the road ahead, the distance behind, the moments that change us along the way.


Spanning continents and decades, Odyssey traces both physical and emotional paths, from epic migrations to quiet reckonings of the self. Moving through borders, memory, and time, the collection reflects the enduring power of photography to bear witness, to connect personal stories with larger histories, and to illuminate the journeys that shape who we are, and what we come to understand.


Over 100 signed or estate-stamped, museum-quality 6x6” prints will be available online for one week, priced from $110/£110/€120.

The Odyssey Square Print Sale runs Monday, March 23 at 9 a.m. ET and ends Sunday, March 29 at 11:59 p.m.

BROWSE THE FULL COLLECTION