Joobin is part of Sassan Behnam Bakhtiar’s Invincible series of digital editions. The video derives from the artist’s acclaimed ongoing body of work, which expresses the pride and strength of the Iranian people both collectively and as individuals. To the artist, each Iranian person is a warrior, a hero, an angel and a modern gladiator in the context of a troubled recent history. Sassan’s oeuvre is heavily inspired by Persian mythology, specifically the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings).
In Joobin, a portrait of an Iranian person is surrounded by and bedecked in patterns derived from the traditional tapestry worn in Iran. The tapestry, which symbolises the stories and wisdom of the Iranian people, forms a kind of armour around the central image. Diverse animated motifs and patterns commonly seen in Iranian art and craft surround the image. The artist states: "There is a bit of everything in it, some is fictional, the rest is literally how I see that person in my head." The video work features the deep voice of Sassan himself, recounting the characteristics of Joobin as an empowering call to strength. The coloured tapestries overlaid over the black and white portrait, twist and flutter to a backdrop of traditional music by Pejman Tadayon with the animation by Diego Fagundes using the Audiovisual Collage software developed at Goldsmiths University of London.