Shirin Neshat

"Art is our weapon. Culture is our form of resistance." Shirin Neshat has created a visual narrative that transcends film and photography with works that explore the complexities of Muslim women in contemporary society, challenging both Western stereotypes and the restrictions of the Islamic regime. Internationally known for the photographic series Women of Allah (1993-1997) and the feature film Women Without Men (2009), which won her the Silver Lion at Venice Festival, she draws on her experience as an Iranian woman in exile to problematize ideas of identity, gender, and power in a Muslim culture. Using the contrast between black and white to symbolize the dualities of her narrative —past and present, East and West, public and private—, she creates poetic and symbolic images in which text, visuals, and music are combined to create a multi-sensory experience. Merging the cinematic and the performative, Neshat turns her art into a weapon of resistance and activism, with works that not only tell stories, but are political and poetic acts that invite the audience to reflect about cultural problems, establishing herself as a courageous voice in global contemporary art.