A solitary brass faucet hangs defiantly against a blistering red backdrop—a stark symbol of a nation’s broken promise. Though turned off, its spout grudgingly leaks a handful of precious drops, stubborn testaments to a resource being strangled by neglect and mismanagement. Below, the earth cracks open in harsh, blistered shades of brown and yellow, a landscape ravaged by drought and abandonment. Bound tight around the faucet, a blue fabric knot clenches the flow, a visceral reminder of the political and social forces choking the lifeblood of a nation.

Carved into the fissured ground beneath, the word “IRON” lies embedded—an unyielding echo of relentless oppression and the iron grip of failing policies that have led a proud civilization to the brink of collapse. This is not just a lament for lost water; it is an indictment of power structures that put profit and control above survival. The tension between suffocation and release courses through the image, demanding recognition of the deep scars left by environmental catastrophe inflicted by human hands.

Inspired by Iran’s devastating water crisis, this work exposes the brutal reality behind headlines: communities shattered, traditions endangered, and futures stolen by systemic disregard. It turns the gaze firmly on the forces that bind, suffocate, and betray—on a civilization’s ancient pulse throttled by modern failure. This is a bold confrontation with crisis, a call to unmask injustice, and a stark challenge to those who still hold the keys to flow or famine. The knot here is political, urgent, and unyielding—an emblem of resistance against erasure and silence.