Khoda, Khod'a
In Farsi, Khoda carries a dual meaning: God and self-awareness. This performance explored endurance, limits, and the body’s quiet insistence to surrender.
Sitting in the freezing Icelandic wind, I recited Khoda 1,200 times, counting the beads of my grandfather’s prayer string. Without a set goal, I sought to test how far I could push myself. The chill reached deep into my bones, shaking me to my core. My knuckles cracked visibly, though I could no longer feel them.
The repetition of Khoda anchored me, transforming discomfort into reflection. Khoda, Khod'a became a meditation on the fragile balance between resilience and letting go. And in the end, it took only ten minutes to reach the point where I could no longer stay
Performance, video installation 2014
Khoda, Khod'a-Video
This video captures a moment of endurance and introspection as I sit in the freezing Icelandic wind, reciting Khoda until I could no longer withstand the cold. Accompanied by Salman Savoji’s verse:
آی آنکه تو طالب خدای بیخدا
از خود بطلب کز تو جدا نیست خدا
اول به خدا چون به خدای بیخدا
که قرار نمای به خدای بیخدا
Oh, you who seek a God without self,
Seek within yourself, for God is not separate from you.