This exhibition brings together more than 85 photographs taken by 12 women photographers from Iran and the Arab world. Ranging in genre from documentary to portraiture, these evocative images challenge Western conceptions and provide insight into the contemporary social and political landscape of the Middle East, a part of the world where Canadian Forces have been engaged since the 1950s. The exhibition is divided into three thematic areas.
Deconstructing Orientalism
“Orientalism” traditionally refers to depictions of the Middle East and East Asia by Europeans or North Americans—romanticized visions of an inferior land, reflecting the goals of Western colonialism and imperialism. The images in this section show the critical view contemporary artists have taken toward Orientalism, especially in regards to depictions of women and the hijab, or headscarf. Here women stage themselves in dramatic settings, in contrast to the male-dominated Orientalist fantasy. Most works date to the 1990s, a time when the concern with the layering and concealment of identities by the hijab raged. While many artists based in Iran and the Arab world today find the subject of the hijab to be passé, others are finding new, provocative ways of representing the veil and its implications, often within a broader critique of Orientalism.
Bullets Revisited #3, 2012
Lalla Essaydi (born in Morocco in 1956)
Triptych, chromogenic prints on aluminum
*Courtesy of Miller Yezerski Gallery Boston; Edwynn Houk Gallery New York
*Reproduced with permission
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
New Documentary
In addition to addressing social and political issues, this exhibition presents a new kind of documentary, a more artistic and imaginative form that brings the real-life experiences of the creators to the forefront. Many of the photographers featured in the exhibition have direct experience of war and revolution, including the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, the Iranian Revolution of 2009, and the many conflicts of the Egyptian Revolution or Arab Spring that began in 2011. These themes — of conflict, occupation, protest and revolt — all find a place in their images.
Metro #20, from the series The Metro, 2003Rana El Nemr (Egyptian, born in Germany in 1974)
Pigment print
*Museum purchase with general funds and the Abbott Lawrence Fund
*Reproduced with permission.
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonUntitled #2, from the series Today’s Life and War, 2008Gohar Dashti (born in Iran in 1980)
Pigment print
Museum purchase with funds donated by the Weintz Family Harbor Lights Foundation
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
*Reproduced with permission
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonUntitled, from the series Women of Gaza, 2009Tanya Habjouqa (born in Jordan in 1975)
Pigment print
*Museum purchase with general funds and the Horace W. Goldsmith Fund for Photography
*© Tanya Habjouqa
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonAerial I, production still from Shadow Sites II, 2011Jananne Al-Ani (born in Iraq in 1966)
Archival chromogenic print
*Courtesy of the artist, Rose Issa Projects, London, and Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2011
*© Jananne Al-Ani
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonUntitled XIII, from the series Negative Incursions, 2002Rula Halawani (born in Palestine in 1964)
Pigment print
*Courtesy of Ayyam Gallery, Dubai and the artist
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Break, from the series Cairo Year One: Upekkha, 2011Nermine Hammam (born in Egypt in 1967)
Pigment print
*Courtesy of the artist, Rose Issa Projects, London, and Taymour Grahne
*© Nermine Hammam
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Constructing Identity
Ranging from the personal to the political, the photographs in this section provide glimpses into the social landscapes of different cultures through contemporary portraiture. Diversity within contemporary visual media from Iran and the Arab world is, in part, a product of the distinct regional identities in the Middle East. The photographers come from diverse backgrounds; some are intimately attached to their national and cultural identities, while others seek to expose qualities that exist across cultures. Here they address themes ranging from the public personas and private desires of women to social issues related to their own political convictions. In doing so, the artists offer new perspectives on social, political, historical, and even universal identity.
Untitled, from the series Qajar, 1998Shadi Ghadirian (born in Iran in 1974)
Gelatin silver print
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund for Photography and Abbott Lawrence Fund
*© Shadi Ghadirian
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonDon’t Forget This Is Not You (for Sahar Lotfi), from the series Listen, 2010Newsha Tavakolian (born in Iran in 1981)
Pigment print
*Courtesy of the artist and East Wing Contemporary Gallery
*Reproduced with permission
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonStephanie, Beirut, Lebanon, 2010, from the series A Girl and Her RoomRania Matar (born in Lebanon in 1964)
Pigment print
*Courtesy of the artist and Carroll and Sons, Boston
*© Rania Matar
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMother, Daughter, Doll series, 2010Boushra Almutawakel (born in Yemen in 1969)
Nine pigment prints
Museum purchase with funds donated by Richard and Lucille Spagnuolo, 2013 2013.556–564
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
*© Boushra Almutawakel
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, BostonRahim, from the series Our House Is On Fire, 2013Shirin Neshat (born in Iran in 1957)
Ink on digital chromogenic print
*Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels
*Copyright Shirin Neshat
*Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Mark your calendar
Photo at top of page: Untitled #5
Gohar Dashti (Iranian, born in 1980), 2008
Photograph, pigment print
Courtesy of the artist and Robert Klein Gallery, Boston
Copyright Gohar Dashti
Courtesy the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.