“I often use poetry as a starting point for inspiration and Ahmad Schamlou’s poem, „Common Love,” deeply resonates with me and speaks about our shared humanity. We all grapple with…

“I often use poetry as a starting point for inspiration and Ahmad Schamlou’s poem, „Common Love,” deeply resonates with me and speaks about our shared humanity. We all grapple with grief and trauma, both on an individual and collective level. But with this common ground, we feel less alone. This is human nature: we see and feel that others experience similar struggles therefore we feel bonded and hopeful. That is why we create art and culture to reach beyond our differences. The most powerful works in my opinion are those which connect people and evoke shared emotions without explanation.”- Shirin Neshat. Der Greif and Shirin Neshat put out an open call, inspired by the line „I am a common pain, scream me“ from Ahmad Shamlou‘s poem “Common Love”, printed on the inner cover of this issue. 1.500 artists and photographers from all over the world responded to this theme. The result is a poetic and multifaceted visual narration through 86 images on 100 sensitively layouted pages.