Shirin NeshatTooba Series, 2002
Shirin Neshat’s photographic series "Women of Allah" examine the complexities of women’s identities, both through their personal and public lives. The series also explores notions of femininity in relation to Islamic fundamentalism and militancy in her home country of Iran. This is done both through the lens of Western representations of Muslim women, and through the more intimate subject of personal and religious conviction. This particular image was one of only a few taken by Neshat in Iran.
Writing on Neshat’s practice for Gentlewoman in 2018, Cristina Ruiz notes;
“Her works are lyrical, dreamlike reflections on the place of women in Iranian society, on the two very different cultures – Eastern and Western – that have shaped her life, and on the far-reaching impact of historic political events – revolutions, coups, uprisings – on ordinary lives. She is a masterful image-maker who delivers powerful political messages by stealth, first seducing you through the beauty of her visual style and the music that accompanies her videos and films (she has worked with composers such as Sussan Deyhim, Philip Glass and Ryuichi Sakamoto), then making you think deeply about some of the most pressing issues of our time.”
Shirin Neshat’s striking Tooba Series (2002) is a still from the artist’s two-channel video installation of the same name, which features an image that references the sacred tree of paradise from the Koran. Neshat’s interest is in foregrounding the struggles faced by women in traditionally male-dominated conservative societies.
