On the Back of a Crime

Year : 2023
Dimension : 20 × 15 × 5 cm (Height × Width × Depth)
Weight : 330 grams
Edition Size : Unique piece
Artist : Mahmood Rafati
Material : Natural wood, charred wood, paint, wooden base
Technique : Expressive sculptural composition featuring three intertwined human forms

Description: Three bodies—one standing, one bent, and one fallen. This sculpture explores lust turned into dominance, objectification, and cruelty. The figure on the ground is not just a victim, but the literal foundation of this dynamic—a human being erased from view. Through stillness, the work screams: sometimes love wears the mask of violence.

This piece brings together three bodies—
and with them, three positions: dominance, submission, and sacrifice.

Three Bodies, Three Roles

Two figures stand entangled, seemingly in an embrace.
But beneath them lies a third body
one that is flattened, turned into a platform, no longer a person but a stage for others’ intimacy and power.

This body is the most important.
It is the unseen victim.
Used, ignored, forgotten.

From Passion to Exploitation

The interaction above is not affection—it is control.
And it stands—literally—on the suffering of another.
Desire here is not connection; it’s erasure of those beneath.

Structural Violence

The sculpture critiques not only personal abuse,
but a system of dominance, where rising often means stepping on others.
It’s not just about lust—
it’s about any kind of relationship where one thrives because another falls.

Final Reflection

In the Name of Desire, in the Wake of Violence
doesn’t scream. It doesn’t accuse.
It simply reveals
that when one lies beneath,
even love becomes a crime