Most people take advantage of having a place to call home; however, for those living in exile, home may be a distant memory. That is the case for Iranian born artist, Shirin Neshat, who since 1996 has been unable to return to her homeland. When asked if she now considers herself a world citizen (she has lived In the United States for the past 35 years) she replied that she does not feel 100 percent that New York is her home or that Iran is.
"[...] If I go to Iran, I will feel like an outcast, and this sense of hesitation, disappointment and doubt is a feeling I will have for the rest of my life. It is not my idea to live in exile. I don’t romanticize it. It is a bit of a punishment but I try and use it to my advantage" (1). Because of Neshat's biculturalism she is able to create genuine works of art and "see both sides of the wall" (1).
A few years after Neshat left her homeland, the Iranian Revolution began followed by a war between Iran and Iraq. For eleven years Neshat was unable to return to Iran. In 1990 when she returned for the first time, an experience that "changed her life," she was struck with inspiration (2). She recounts that for years she had longed to go home to be with her family and relieve herself from the sense of loss and disconnection, yet when she was able to finally do so the country that she returned to had changed vastly. Although she was scared of this "new" country , it seemed to give her a new motivation to create art again(2).
Her first piece after her return to Iran was a series of photos titled Women of Allah (1993-1997). This was her first piece that began commenting on the struggle that women in Iran face everyday. This world renowned series of black and white photos of Iranian woman received "widespread criticism that Neshat was romanticizing Islamic fundamentalism"(2). The series contains various photos of Nashat and other Iranian women in traditional veils. Many of the photos show the women holding guns and starring directly at the camera and all of them have text, Persian calligraphy, referring to the Revolution, written in ink over them. Neshat, not trying to be either pro- or counterrevolutionary in her photographs, found herself being warned by the conservative Iranian officials to stay away because her art was too controversial. Her intention was to display "a visual exploration of what it means ideologically, philosophically, and even aesthetically to be a Muslim woman [...]" (2).
Many Westerners misinterpreted the photos and thought that Neshat was making a comment on the oppression and silencing of Muslim woman because of the writing across the hands, feet, and faces of the women, which can come off looking like chains. Americans tend to think of Muslim women as powerless yet in one particular photo, Rebellious Silence (1994), Neshat is shown directly facing the camera. She is centered in the composition, is gazing out at the viewer, and is holding a gun centered in front of her face. She looks empowered and determined. Instead of being oppressed and trapped she is looking at us in the West and challenging us to think differently.
Following Women of Allah, Neshat went on to create many short films, most continuing to comment on Iran, post-Revolution, and the separation she continues to feel. In an interview with Lila Azam Zanganah, Zanganah comments on the ironic phenomenon "that nearly every single well-known Iranian outside of Iran, today, is a woman."(2). Neshat replies,
"Perhaps those who are more oppressed tend to be more creative about speaking out. [...] And because women are under so much pressure, they end up becoming more innovative about dealing with crises and devising ways out [...] For example, in my 1998 black-and-white film Turbulent, when the woman sings, she knows she is not allowed to sing like the man, so she finds her own way and sings [...] and as a result, she performs music that is completely original and unorthodox" (2).
In the film, Turbulent (1998), Neshat takes two scenes and projects them up on opposite walls at the exhibition. She uses this technique for many of her video installations so that the viewer is physically in the middle of both projections. In this film, on one screen, there is a man singing on a stage in front of an audience of other Iranian men. He stands, confidently with his back away from his audience, knowing they will admire his performance no matter which way he faces. The camera is coming from the stage so that the male singer and his audience are in the view of the camera. When he is done singing he is applauded for "his performance of a passionate love song" (4). The male singer represents the Iranian society's ideal man, he dresses and sings exactly within the parameters the government has laid out. However, on the other screen, we see a strange black figure standing on a stage in an auditorium, the same auditorium the men were in but this time it is empty. "As the camera circles around this figure, we hear an impassioned workless song composed of supernatural breaths and ecstatic cries - an amazing symphony of unbridled, primal emotion" (5). The camera pans around and we begin to see that it is a women in chador, covering her from head to toe. She sings with so much conviction that the male singer seems to actually stop and listen to her from the other screen. Even though some of the time she is not even singing words and when she is, it is in Persian and I cannot understand it, I can still feel the pain and the passion in her voice. The way the male singer stares out blankly at her makes me think that he is stunned and impressed with her singing as well. Neshat says, "an important aspect of Turbulent is that women in Iran are prohibited from singing in public, and there are no recordings by female musicians" (4). So the sounds that the female singer comes up with are actually quite rebellious and unheard of. The way Neshat portrays this aspect of Iranian society is quite convincing and thought provoking.
Shirin Neshat continues working today and commenting on the differences between the lives of men and women in modern Iran. She is currently working on a full length film, Women without Men, which is a film adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur's novel of the same title. "The story chronicles the intertwining lives of four Iranian women during the summer of 1953; a cataclysmic moment in Iranian history when an American led, British backed coup d'état brought down the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, and reinstalled the Shah to power" (6). Neshat and her work have become enormously popular and she has become an inspiration for many Muslim woman. Her art continues to speak to what she feels most strongly about no matter where she lives.
(1) Dalal, Pradeep. Thoughts in Exhile - Shirin Neshat. Ego Magazine. 12 Aug 2005.
(2) Zanganeh, Lila Adam. My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother Guard Your Eyes. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006.
(3) Turbulent. Shirin, Neshat. Shoja Azari and Sussan Deyhim. 1998. Video Installation.
(4) Danto, Arthur C. Shirin Neshat. Bombsite. Fall 2000.
(5) Egoyan, Atom. Turbulent. MUBI.
(6) Women Without Men website. 2010.
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