Published in Overland Issue 234 Autumn 2019 · Uncategorized Guest artist for Overland 234: Hoda Afshar Hoda Afshar Cover Artist’s Statement – cover Edris – Manus Island (2018) Edris is a Kurdish-Iranian refugee. He arrived at Australia’s shores in 2013 when he was only eighteen, before being sent to Manus Island – to Camp Delta, the harshest of all of Australia’s prison camps, as they call them there. Edris reminded me immediately of my younger brother in Iran. He described to me what being statelessness means, and how his dream of one day having an ID card sent him on this journey. He told me how his detention on Manus had become a nightmare equal to the one that he fled. I asked Edris what he will do with his freedom, if ever that day comes. He went silent, and looked away. Then he shyly replied, ‘I don’t know how freedom feels. I haven’t even seen it in my dreams yet.’ Later, when I returned from Manus and processed the films, this portrait of Edris came out blurry and vague. All that was left on the negative was the trace of his body, and that undreamt dream of his. Artwork for essay ‘That bird is for us’ Artwork for essay ‘Telling the untold stories’ Artwork for essay ‘The fire cult’ Artwork for essay ‘Combat breathing’ Artwork for essay ‘Not all yellow and white’ Artwork for essay ‘State your intentions’ Artwork for essay ‘Aqua Profonda’ Back cover art Read the rest of Overland 234 If you enjoyed this piece, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four brilliant issues for a year Hoda Afshar Hoda Afshar was born in Tehran and is now based in Melbourne. Through her art practice, Hoda explores the nature and possibilities of documentary image-making. Her work has been widely exhibited locally and internationally, and published online and in print. hodaafshar.com More by Hoda Afshar › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 3 June 20263 June 2026 · Reviews The past in the object: Vanessa Berry’s Calendar Courtney Powell In her latest book, Calendar, Vanessa Berry explores the relationships that are formed between people and material culture, both fleeting and sentimental, and how they can come to represent us. 1 June 2026 · Culture We were all workers on GeoCities Maria Dudko GeoCities remains an important reminder that collective labour on the internet is not new — and that recognising ourselves as workers is the first step towards organising as such.
