Artist Feature: ICY and SOT
"Transcending their histories of artistic and political censorship..."
ICY and SOT are two brothers whose political street art addresses global social issues such as human rights, freedom of expression, child labor, war, and peace. In 2006 they began their street art adventures together in Tabriz, Iran, transcending their histories of artistic and political censorship into beautiful street art. Their messages sought to bring peace, depict human rights, ecological justice, addressing social and political issues, but were seen by the Iranian government to be “politically disruptive” and containing “satanism.” The consequences became far too dangerous causing them to move to New York City in 2012. With no option to return to their home country, they continue to share their political messages, now with an even broader global perspective.
“We have made work here about capitalism, police brutality, homelessness, and migration. Although the work may not be related to Iran, we still think we can have a small impact on artists and ordinary people in Iran by continuing what we started at home and doing it internationally.”
“We see the world less balanced than ever, we can literally see the global warming happening, we see the refugee crisis, racism, terrorism, Islamophobia happening more than ever but we still see today’s bright side, more people are engaging to fight against these heartbreaking issues or are becoming aware of them and, on the other side, we always see all the simple beautiful things that are surrounding us – good people, nature, and beers.”
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ICY (born 1985) and SOT (born 1991) are stencil artists from Tabriz, Iran, currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. Their work appears on walls and galleries globally, including Iran, USA, Germany, China, and Norway. Keep up with their street art here.