“The human physique can be regarded in two ways. We call it ‘a body,’ so long as it is tied to the soul. When that tie is broken, it is no longer called a body, but ‘a corpse.’” — Avicenna 
In the absence of the contained (soul), the container (body) turns into a corps. Apparently, a corps (date kernels) is the only thing left to me from the prisoners’ free will. 
-This installation is an archive consists of 35000 filed date kernels made by 18 prisoners imprisoned out of Tehran in six months. The prisoners were all condemned for imprisonment for life or execution. 
Prisoner’s file date kernels, usually used for making prayer beads. Why would the first prisoner think about such an idea? When sentenced to isolation, without the possibility of any artisanship, collecting date kernels and trying to make something out of it, is an attempt to leave a mark on the surroundings or being present in the outside world through whatever possible means. Even in the form of trading and making a living. 
The desire to achieve “free will” comes down to “making” things, which does not necessarily have artistic results. Filing date kernels is an exercise in futility: they pile up in pursuit of retrieving “free will” in a hopeless situation. In this vain patience for making something, the result of which is not even known to the prisoners themselves, each bead represents a vain moment that has come and gone, as they are polished and heaped, containing nothing but emptiness and silence.