Stripped

Living in New York, Shirin Neshat is very much a person between two cultures who often looks back to her Persian heritage for inspiration. This is with mixed feelings, being fascinated by the richness of culture in Iran, as well as repulsed and frightened by the cruelty she has seen there. In many of her works, she confronts the difficult topic of women's life in Islamic culture, creating visually powerful works, which demonstrate a very modern view of feminism. Especially in her photographic works, many of which are inscribed with devotional prayers and poems in Farsi, she does not make strict moral judgements. Showing women in contadictionary situations, in traditional roles as mothers, wives and victims, as well as in the roles of revolutionaries and terrorists, for example, Shirin Neshat forces the viewer to think very carefully about quick judgements and solutions. She questions whether freedom and emancipation, as women have achieved these in western culture, might work differently in other cultures.