Shirin Neshat Stripped, 1995 Black and white RC print and ink (photo taken by Kyong Park) Work: 35.6 x 27.9 cm
Shirin Neshat’s work explores issues such as gender politics, selfdefinition and religious authority. Primarily using female imagery, she examines political and societal change in Iran. For the artist, Iranian women embody this political transformation, so that “by studying a woman, you can read the structure and the ideology of the country”. Neshat occupies an influential and highly respected position in the international contemporary art world, not only for her formidable artistic talent but also for her long history as a writer and cultural worker. Her socially-based practice uncovers hidden histories and engages with marginalised lived experiences; constructing expanding visual archives which claim legitimate, visible spaces for her subjects. By proposing these different modes and perspectives of representation, Neshat’s works serve as prime examples of the nexus of art and social activism.
