Workshop of Master ‘Shahram Goudarzi’, Designer and Creator of the Most Magnificent Statue of Cyrus the Great, Sealed
The workshop of master ‘Shahram Goudarzi’, designer and creator of the most magnificent statue of Cyrus the Great in the world, has been sealed.
Shahram Goudarzi, a statue sculptor artist, began construction of the statue of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, in August 2016 in his personal workshop in the village of ‘Toiderah’ in Klardasht. This statue, which stands 6 meters tall and weighs approximately 12 tons, is considered the largest statue of Cyrus the Great.
In recent years, after beginning construction of the Cyrus statue, Shahram Goudarzi received an invitation from the United Kingdom to create statues and teach at British universities, but he responded negatively to their invitation and announced that he would remain in Iran and bring honor to the Iranian nation.
He stated in an interview last year: “On the 1st of Aban month, as is customary every year before the Day of Cyrus the Great, which falls on the 7th of Aban month, I was respectfully requested by a security agency to close the exhibition housing the great Cyrus statue on the 6th and 7th of Aban month. I complied with them as in previous years because I am not seeking controversy and I am not engaged in political work. I am merely an artist, and creating the statue of Cyrus is also an artistic and cultural endeavor. Cyrus is a symbol of human rights and a source of pride for Iranians in the world.”
He further stated: “Despite my cooperation to close the section dedicated to the Cyrus statue, a few days later on the 4th of Aban month, another security agency, this time disrespectfully, ordered the closure of my workshop and exhibition until further notice and instructed me to continue my artistic activities from home until further notice. From that day on, all my follow-ups have gone unanswered and I have not been able to reopen the exhibition. I am ashamed before many of my compatriots who come to see the Cyrus statue but are faced with closed doors.”
Now, after several months have passed, reports published on social media indicate that not only has his workshop and exhibition, which was supposed to be closed until further notice, not reopened, but it has been sealed. During an interview, Shahram Goudarzi, identifying himself as a soldier of Cyrus and a soldier of the homeland, said: “The Iranian nation will eradicate superstition and betrayal. What causes superstition and betrayal? Lies from fellow citizens! The liar easily commits betrayal and easily spreads superstitions to contaminate the dear children of Iran, the children of the great Cyrus, and make them servants and slaves. With magic, sorcery, jinn, fairies, and superstitions, we cannot get anywhere, fellow citizen.”
He also alluded to the Jamkaran well, where many travelers write their problems on paper and throw them into the well hoping that someday a savior will come and free them from their troubles, adding: “Whoever throws their wishes into a well will always remain at the bottom of that well themselves. My dear ones, to achieve your wishes, use civility and art, science, knowledge and wisdom. We are the children of Cyrus and soldiers of Cyrus’s path, and the covenant we must make with each other is that there is only one path in the world, and that path is righteousness and humanity, like Cyrus.”
The sealing of his workshop and exhibition, as well as his prohibition from working on the statue of Cyrus the Great, has provoked widespread reactions. His supporters, artists, and the Iranian people expressed their displeasure and announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not only afraid of an artist but also of a statue, and not just any statue, but the statue of Cyrus the Great, the king of Iran and Iranians. The authority that existed in King Cyrus is so evident even in his statue that it has terrified a regime.
