Toeh Meisami: "This publication is a very short/brief history of an Iranian family-my own family-who had been involved in and affected by the political events of a specific period of the history of Iran (specifically the events that took place the years before and after 1979 revolution in Iran).

The text, in each ten chapters of the book, is divided into the main and the marginal. While the main text has taken a subjective approach and narrates the personal, inner moments of the life of the family, the marginal text -which is coming as footnotes for the main text in black pages of the book-, refers to the historical and political events that had happened parallel to the events of the family. This publication is an attempt to capture the moments in which this historical timeline of Iran’s history had clashed with the personal time line of a family.

The title-from behind the eyelids- besides referring to my father’s blindness which have happened in a bomb explosion before the Iranian revolution, points out the consequent blindness I felt after traveling through the history of Iran and my own family. In gathering, reviewing and writing theses events I seem to have followed the similar course to what my father’s had gone through after his becoming blind. He says that up to even a few years ago he could sense or see lights and shadows from behind his eyelids. Now however, it is several years since he no longer senses or sees any light."

Author: Toeh Meisami

Design: Yin Yin Wong

Collection editors: Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Yolande van der Heide for Publishing Class

Publisher: Dutch Art Institute

Distribution: WALTERbooks