Artwork by Yalda Javan Mojarad
1. At the beginning of the book Virginia Woolf says that while she is sitting on the banks of a river and thinking, she processes this set of ideas which she compares to a fish about to be caught by a fishing hook. An idea that after you get the fish you look at how small it is. So small and weak that if you are a good fisherman, you would definitely throw it back into the water.
But in my opinion, the thoughts that she had imagined were so small <that> turned out to be the greatness of this book, strong writings that can guide hundreds of women around the world.
2. Later in the book Virginia Woolf talks about remarkable women of each era and she mentions Shakespeare and asks this question why there is not a single woman as great as him in poetry for example in that time. She says that it might sound too simple but the fact that at those times women had no place for their own to work in was a problem. A room of one’s own. Which I thought it was beautiful how she talked about it and emphasised the importance of this mater. And so, her thoughts were all created there in her own room. Thoughts that she thought might be too small and unimportant, but nowadays are changing a lot of people's lives.
3. It’s not only about Virginia Woolf but all the people with all their great ideas that can be life-changing. Virginia Woolf’s sayings, writings, and books like the simple fact about one’s room that she mentioned have affected so many people. This last picture is an accidental collage of some of the great women of the 20th century’s rooms, working places, and houses like Marie Curie, Margaret Thatcher, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, …
What I tried to picture was the fact that each room forms with people who live in it, and this experience of different people living in each room which is unique for every individual can result in beautiful thoughts and ideas. The birth of a great idea can be as accidental as this plan.
Yalda Javan Mojarad, January 2024
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