Shirin Neshat

Shirin Neshat is one of the most well-known Iranian artists in the world, and yet, she’s never been able to exhibit her work in her home country. Having lived in exile in New York City for most of her adult life, Shirin’s dual cultural identity is the unyielding thread through her 40-year career. In 1974, Shirin first moved to Los Angeles (somewhat reluctantly) to study art. She wasn’t able to return to Iran until 1990, and when she did, the Persian country she knew was gone – governed by the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution. Shirin began interviewing women who lived through the regime change, saying, “it became this journey about learning what happened in Iran when I was gone. I became obsessed with the subject of martyrdom.” Through this research, Shirin created her seminal series Women of Allah (1993-1997). The black and white portraits embellished with Farsi calligraphy capture the defiance and strength of Iranian women, while also expressing Shirin’s personal grief and longing for a cultural identity she’d lost.