Distorted by Prayer Beads

Year : 2021
Dimension : 20 × 14 × 4 cm (Height × Length × Depth)
Weight : 290 grams
Edition Size : Unique piece
Artist : Mahmood Rafati
Material : Natural wood, prayer beads, translucent stone
Technique : Mixed wood and symbolic objects in abstract arrangement
Description: A weathered human form, frozen in a silent scream, bound by yellow prayer beads. These beads, instead of signifying faith, symbolize captivity; and the translucent stone below the figure represents the true self buried beneath layers of superstition.

This sculpture reconstructs the human body not with flesh and bone, but with fractured wood and silent anguish. A figure appears bound by yellow prayer beads—not as a symbol of devotion, but as chains tightening around its truth.

The beads no longer speak of spiritual elevation. Instead, they weigh the figure down, mirroring the oppressive force of blind belief. At the sculpture’s base lies a translucent stone—a glimmer of the essential self, suffocated beneath imposed sanctity.

Distorted by Prayer Beads is not merely a protest; it is a warning. When belief becomes dogma and reflection is lost, faith can deform rather than deliver