Shirin Neshat in London
Shirin Neshat
28 July - 3 September 2000 at the Serpentine
Gallery
Kensington Gardens London W2 3XA
"Born in Iran in 1957, Shirin Neshat studied art in the United
States and was in Los Angeles when the revolution of 1979 overtook her
country. returning for the first time in 1990, she was deeply affected
by her homeland's radical transformation. Working in photography and video
installation, her art refers to the social, cultural and religious codes
of Muslim societies in general and Iranian society in particular.
"Apart from the graphic appeal of Neshat's stark and minimal composition,
the power of her work lies in its resistance to one-sided interpretation:
does it represent an opposition to fundamentalism or does it question Western
myths regarding Islam? The emotional pitch of the work is intensified by
original music composed and performed by the Iranian musician and singer
Sussan Deyhim.
"This exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the Kunsthalle
Wien and presents Neshat's trilogy: Turbulent (1998), Rapture (1999) and
Fervor (2000) as well as a selection of photographs from her series Women
of Allah (1993-1997). Neshat's work has been the subject of major one-person
exhibitions in the United States and Europe and she was a winner of a Golden
Lion Award at the 1999 Venice Biennale." [Taken from the Gallery's
publicity material]
Over the six-weeks of the exhibition, several artists and critics provide
visitors with an informal introduction to the work in the Shirin Neshat
exhibition, including the artist herself who will speak on Saturday 29
July, at 3pm. Admission Free.
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