A collective book of illustrations and poetry portraying Tehran’s memories, wounds, resistance, and enduring desire for freedom
Gianluca Costantini contributed a drawing to The Tehraner, a collective volume conceived and directed by Aude Sarkamari. Bringing together illustrations and poetry, the book is dedicated to Tehran, Iranian society, and its enduring demand for freedom.
Iran cannot be confined to a static representation made up of familiar images and reductive stereotypes. Behind the headlines, political crises, and repression lies a country of extraordinary cultural richness, shaped by the energy and creativity of its younger generations.
Published in French by Gondishapour, The Tehraner brings together works by artists from Iran, its diaspora, and around the world. Collectively, they create a multifaceted portrait of the Iranian capital—its memories, faces, wounds, and hopes for the future.
The project was launched in 2020 in the spirit of The New Yorker’s iconic covers. Its initial aim was to provide artists with a space in which to portray Tehran beyond the images commonly circulated by Western media.
Over time, however, the course of Iranian history inevitably transformed the project. What began as a tribute to the city gradually became a visual chronicle of the present: a testimony to protest, repression, civil resistance, and the desire for freedom running through Iranian society.
The illustrations do not offer a single or definitive interpretation of the country. Instead, they form a constellation of perspectives—some intimate, others explicitly political—that convey the complexity of a reality that cannot be reduced to images of power and violence alone.
Gianluca Costantini’s contribution is part of this collective dimension. For many years, the Italian artist and graphic journalist has used drawing to document human rights struggles, political prisoners, popular uprisings, and forms of civil resistance. His participation in The Tehraner continues a visual practice centred on memory and on giving a face to the individuals involved in the major events of contemporary history.
Each artwork in the book is accompanied by a poem written by Aude Sarkamari. These brief texts draw upon memories of her earliest journeys to Iran and her personal relationship with her roots.
The poems do not seek to explain the images or restrict their meaning. They accompany and extend them, opening an inner space in which words and drawings can resonate together. Image and text unfold side by side, creating a dialogue shaped by memory, belonging, distance, and longing.
The Tehraner is therefore more than an illustrated book. It is an emotional and political archive created through different forms of expression: a living memorial to a generation that refuses to be erased and a cry for freedom that reaches beyond national borders.
Born in Paris to an Iranian father and a French mother, Aude Sarkamari encountered the richness of Persian culture—its poetry, stories, and distinctive musicality—during visits to Iran with her father’s family.
These formative experiences created a lasting connection to her roots and shaped her artistic sensibility. During her studies, she joined the Parisian creative collective From Paris, an experience that strengthened her interest in collaborative projects and multiple cultural perspectives.
After completing a master’s degree at CELSA Paris-Sorbonne, she began working in advertising and communication, developing a particular interest in social trends, human behaviour, and collective imagination. Alongside this work, she explored photography, singing, digital writing, and music, later working as a DJ and producer.
Today, she works as an independent digital communication consultant and art director. Through The Tehraner, she continues to pursue a fundamental conviction: that art is a universal language capable of connecting generations, territories, and histories.
All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, an organisation dedicated to documenting human rights violations and preserving the memory of the victims of the Islamic Republic.
This commitment makes the book not only a cultural work but also a concrete act of solidarity. Its images and poems become tools for informing, preserving memory, and supporting those who continue to defend freedom and fundamental rights.
At a time when propaganda, censorship, and the speed of the news cycle threaten to flatten every story, The Tehraner reaffirms the importance of complexity. It reminds us that behind every event are people, bodies, memories, and aspirations—and that art remains one of the few languages still capable of bringing them together and preserving what can still be saved.
The Tehraner, by Aude Sarkamari, was published in French by Gondishapour on May 8, 2026. The 124-page volume includes a drawing by Gianluca Costantini. ISBN: 978-2-488778-10-7.
