Guardian — mixed media sculpture by Hadis Vahidi

Guardian stands as a compact but commanding presence, an intimate 6x6x6-inch mixed-media sculpture that embodies protection, resilience, and quiet force. In this piece, Hadis Vahidi continues her exploration of ever-shifting lifeforms, shaping a figure that feels less constructed and more summoned into being.

The form carries a sense of spiritual architecture, layered, tactile, and deliberately imperfect. Its surface reveals traces of breath and gesture, inviting the viewer to sense the tension between vulnerability and strength. This is not a symbolic guardian; it is a presence in its own right. It doesn’t represent protection; it enacts it.

As with much of Vahidi’s work, Guardian resists literal interpretation. Instead, it offers a raw, immediate encounter. The sculpture feels alive, as if holding something unspoken within its core, asking the viewer to approach not with analysis but with recognition.

A quiet protector, a vessel of memory, a figure becoming, Guardian is a reminder of the power held in the still, the small, and the steadfast.