First published 2019
Shirin Neshat left Iran and built an artistic career exploring the space between her homeland and her new life in exile. This monograph follows her creative evolution from the 1990s black and white videos that established her reputation to her recent multimedia projects. Heyler examines Neshat's early works like Rapture from 1999 and Tooba from 2002, which used the imagery of the chador to reflect on post-revolutionary Iranian society. The book traces how Neshat expanded beyond specifically Iranian themes to address broader questions of displacement and political upheaval. Her recent projects include The Home of My Eyes from 2015 and the previously unseen Land of Dreams from 2019. The volume features stills from her Dreamers series, which documents the experiences of outsiders living in America. Essays by Iranian cultural commentators and an artist interview provide additional context. Readers gain insight into how Neshat's personal experience of separation from Iran shaped her artistic vision and her portraits of people caught between belonging and estrangement.
Genres: biography, art, gender-studies, feminism, non-fiction, cultural-studies
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Iran
Period: 1990s, 2015, 2019
240 pages · Hardcover · Prestel