Saffron, Saint of Spices, 2023 & 2024

Exploring Healing Saffron Crocus and Women’s Labor

The University of California, San Francisco Library Fellowship Artist Residency Project

I was the Artist in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco Library, from July 2021 to July 2022. During my residency at the University of California, San Francisco Library (2021-2022), I explored European botanical books in the library’s Archives and Special Collections. Among all plants, saffron crocus stood out because it has deep roots in Iranian culture, cuisine, and medicine. Across several books, I found different depictions of it in woodblock prints, which may suggest that illustrators had never seen the plant firsthand.

To produce 1 kilogram of saffron spice, 150,000 crocus flowers must be hand-picked. Each plant has only 3 stigmas, which become saffron spice threads. The labor-intensive harvesting process is mainly done by women for three weeks in late fall in northeastern Iran. As I learned more about saffron cultivation, I became interested in the tensions surrounding its production. Although Iran produces nearly 90% of the world’s saffron, economic sanctions often force farmers to sell their harvest under other countries’ labels, while the women who harvest and process it remain largely invisible. These realities led me to see saffron crocus as a symbol of both healing and trauma; two intertwined forces shaped by global markets and geopolitics.

In my project, Saffron, Saint Of Spices, I celebrate the flower visually in various media, through bottled saffron extracts, 3-D sculptures, hand-printed marbling prayer pages, and handmade shrine and triptych objects as they celebrate saffron crocus as a saint. Together, these media portray women’s labor and the sense of divinity found in nature, art, and science. The geometric floral carpet was handwoven by Qashqai tribe’s members near Shiraz, where I was born (also well-known for weaving Gabbeh). It serves as a meaningful connection to my childhood imagination and, more importantly, my cultural heritage. My father gifted it to me at age five; its colors and images encouraged my art exploration.

Saffron, Saint Of Spices, was exhibited in a solo exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art in 2023 and at the Euphrat Museum of Art in 2024, supported by a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and the UCSF Library Award. This project will be featured in The Cultures of Perfume: Scents that Shaped History, forthcoming in Fall 2026.

Videos

The Saffron 3-D sculpture and the upper section of the Triptych were manufactured at the UCSF Library Makers Lab, in collaboration with Scott Drapeau & Jenny Tai, Makers Lab Designers.

Iranian women harvesting saffron crocus in Khorasan province, where 90% of its global production grows. The delicate flower sprouts for just 10 days a year. But its harvest and distributions are now in jeopardy because Iran has been suffering from sanctions and a devastating drought for the past two decades. Video by Agence France-Presse, Nov 2018.

Pantea Karimi draws a saffron crocus using diluted safflower liquid on paper, 2022. Inspired by the depiction of the saffron crocus from Mattioli’s 16^th c. book at the UCSF Library. Video by Pantea Karimi, March 2022.

Artworks Labels

Triptych:

A Divine Allegory, triptych, 2022, digitized hand-printed marbling on paper, digital collage and print on wood, hand-made wood frame, hinges, and hasp, 43 x 40 x 5 in.

Triptych, an object of reverence since medieval times, allows for storytelling and interactivity. The triptych, A Divine Allegory, is composed after the 18th c. religious triptych, hilya-i-sherif (a noble description of the Prophet Muhammad’s moral qualities), from the Ottoman period. My triptych features archival images of the saffron crocus, paired with Persian text describing the flower’s healing properties. The background showcases my hand-printed marbling patterns, digitized and printed onto archival wood panels. The layout and composition of the triptych are inspired by an original 18th-century version, while the handcrafted back case—assembled entirely with nails—echoes the construction techniques of the medieval era.

Translation of texts on the triptych:

Left panel: Alzheimer’s disease. Oral saffron might modestly improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Right panel: Anxiety. Small clinical studies suggest that oral saffron might improve anxiety.
Middle panel: Depression. The oral saffron extract seems to improve symptoms of depression when used alone or as an adjunct to conventional antidepressants.

Works on paper:

Saffron Crocus, Tradition, (Sonnatee in Persian), 2022
Saffron Crocus, Aphrodisiac, (Mayleh-Jensee in Persian), 2022

Hand-printed marbling, gold acrylic, and gouache on paper, each 36 x 24 in

I use images of the saffron crocus, originally printed from hand-carved woodblock plates, which I extracted from the 17^th and 18^th c. UCSF Library’s books. By painting saffron crocus in gold, I intend to highlight its exceptional nature. The marbling patterns, suggesting fragmented landscapes, incorporate my drawings and hand-written healing properties of the saffron crocus, in Persian, having both cultural and religious connotations. Marbling refers to decorative paper traditionally used for binding manuscripts throughout the history of bookmaking.

Pious Readings i, ii, iii, prayer pages, 2022, hand-printed marbling prints on paper stretched on wood panels, gold paint, watercolor, and gold leaf, each 15 x 10.5 x 1/4 inch

The shapes of the works are inspired by designs from the pages of old illuminated prayer books, often embellished with vibrant botanical imagery in gold. Here, my hand-written Persian texts describe the healing, anti-depressant properties of saffron crocus.

Cartographical Re-Shapes, 2022, diluted safflower on handmade paper, wood hangers, and screws, each 27 x 21.5 inches

On handmade papers, I use diluted safflower to draw the map of the Khorasan province, where most saffron is cultivated in Iran. I started drawing the map within defined boundaries, but gradually the natural liquid spread into the rugged paper and re-shaped the map organically. The new shapes are a metaphoric reminder of water staining the rugged-dried grounds where saffron crocus grows. Safflowers are occasionally used in cooking as a cheaper substitute for saffron.

Shrines:

Sacred Threads i & ii, shrine-Saqqaakhanaa, 2022, Iranian style shrine-facades, watercolor on boards,
3-D saffron crocus sculpture, light, threads, prayer beads, and metal, 37.5 x 24 x 10 inches

The shrine objects are designed after the Iranian shrines and Saqqaakhanaa – the (religious) water fountain. The visitors would leave votive items on the gridded exterior, which is often decorated with beads. Either inside or outside of the structure, there is a fountain for drinking. The votive red threads are symbols for healing wishes, and the 450 saffron threads make up the 1-gram saffron spice. The illuminated 3-D saffron crocus flower sculpture was manufactured in collaboration with the UCSF Library Makers Lab in 2022.

Cube installation on the Persian rug:

Healing Chroma, 2022, diluted saffron spice in glass bottles, cube structure, and board, 30 x 30 x30 in

In Platonic philosophy, Earth was associated with the cube—a form that also echoes the Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site. At the center of a hand-made cubic structure, I’ve placed a platform holding medieval-style bottles filled with diluted saffron in varying chromatic concentrations, evoking both ritual and reverence. The Persian carpet beneath the cube, woven with geometric botanical motifs, was a gift from my father when I was five years old. It was handwoven by women of the Qashqai tribe near Shiraz, the city where I was born.