ROTTERDAM.- A Minute of Shelter by Narges Mohammadi was unveiled on Tuesday 25 November, Orange the World Day, on Coolsingel. The artwork draws attention to all women and girls who are, or have been, affected by violence. Intimate partner violence and domestic abuse are major problems in the Netherlands — the city of Rotterdam even has the highest number of reported incidents in the country.

The artwork consists of a wall that, according to many, represents the only safe space in the house: the bathroom, with a door that can be locked. The sculpture has one side into which the shape of a toilet and washbasin recede, and another from which these objects protrude. The bag on the floor symbolizes the possibility of escaping to find safety. ‘Your entire life, everything that is important to you, should fit into that one bag, allowing you to run away at any moment,' Narges Mohammadi explains. By using commonplace objects and materials, Mohammadi emphasizes the common occurrence of violence against women and girls.

The sculpture is placed on Coolsingel, right in the middle of Rotterdam’s city centre. This prominent location was not randomly selected: this is one of the very few permanent monuments in the world to raise awareness about violence against women. While every eight minutes an incident of domestic violence is reported to the police, the work is thus helping to increase the visibility of this major societal problem in the public space. ‘I hope the artwork will spark conversations,' Narges Mohammadi says. ‘That it helps people to recognize signals at an earlier stage, and makes it easier for women affected by violence to talk about their experiences sooner.’

The artwork was realized after a resolution was passed by the city council of Rotterdam in 2019 to realize a memorial for the 16-year-old girl Hümeyra. She was shot dead in 2018 by her ex-boyfriend after he had been stalking her for some time. In close consultation with Hümeyra's family, the council chose to commission a monument in the city that would serve as a memorial to all women who are, or have been, affected by violence, including femicide.

The career of Narges Mohammadi (1993, somewhere between Kabul and Tehran) gained momentum in 2020 when she made a huge impression with her graduation project at the KABK, Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Her installations and sculptures are rooted in her personal history, marked by experiences from two very different cultures. She draws from the endless riches of the in-between space in which she operates. Her sculptures are made from unexpected, yet recognizable materials: halva, concrete, gum, clay, and soap. Her work is frequently shown during exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad.