Alam bird

*Alam is a symbolic-religious element carried by Iranian people during religious ceremonies to mourn for Imam Hossein in Tasua and Asura

The signs and symbols of past ceremonies and traditions have been faded away and forgotten over the time. Therefore, retrieving, designing and locating them all around the city will make the audience recognize and pay attention to our ritual and identity. One of the most important rituals of Iranians is mourning for Imam Hussein and art has always been a complementary factor of these rituals and events for so long. During the month of Muharram, people collaborate to prepare the city for mourning by putting up black flags, setting up mourning and commemoration events, and holding religious performance called Ta'ziah hence the city managers decided to include special spaces and related artistic elements in urban designs and strategies.

Although I have personally been against formal and legal intervention in these kinds of events as they are community based, we started research on the prominent works of Islamic art and traditional symbols of mourning based on official request of city managers. As a result, by designing and implementing a number of these symbols in city, we tried to familiarize citizens with these signs and the importance of paying attention to their artistic details.

Alam bird, which is one of the most beautiful symbolic-religious elements for mourning, is an example of this collection. This statue made by Hashem Shahriari is 2.5 meters high and made of metal and is located on Mashhad city.