Washington---Iranian-American artist Shirin Neshat's dark kohl-lined eyes are immediately recognizable. Now she is bringing their gaze on Iranian and Arab women's resistance to oppression to this most political of cities.
The Hirshhorn Museum's in Washington's retrospective, just steps from Congress, coincides with a diplomatic push to seal a nuclear deal with Iran that has revived interest in relations between Tehran and the West.
The non-linear narrative of the exhibit provides a glimpse not just at 58-year-old Neshat's art and life, but also the trajectory of Iran in modern times, from the 1953 coup through the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the recent Green Movement.
"My work is the expression of my feelings and relationship to politics... the rise of anxiety and the joy of the prospect of peace," Neshat told AFP.
At 58, the New York-based artist is unassuming and soft-spoken, her diminutive frame contrasting with the boldness of her work.
Although the self-described secular Muslim, insists her exile is "self-imposed," her work is so controversial in Iran that it has yet to be shown there publicly, and she has not returned since 1996.
The female protagonists in her video installations are constantly on the move, their lives at risk at every moment.
In "Turbulent" from 1998 a singer defies a ban on singing in public.
While in "Fervour" from 2000, a woman dares seek the gaze of her beloved and in 1999's "Rapture" the women embark on a boat, leaving the men behind, for what could be interpreted as either suicide or freedom.
Each video of the trilogy features split screens dividing men and women, a theme taken up in more mystical fashion in "Women Without Men", a five-part video series that was later made into a feature film.
"My perspective on the situation of the Iranian women, particularly of course since the Islamic Revolution, is that the more they are up against the wall, the more resilient, confrontational and rebellious they have become," Neshat said.
AFP
