Shirin Neshat

Shirin Neshat was born in Iran and now lives in New York: for decades, this internationally renowned artist has addressed the social and political situation in her native country with a special focus on the status of women in Islamic societies.In response to the repeated criticism about the beauty and perfection in her works in an interview with Gerald Matt in connection with the exhibition in Kunstraum Dornbirn she insisted: "I am not merely concerned with beauty, actually it is more...
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Shirin Neshat was born in Iran and now lives in New York: for decades, this internationally renowned artist has addressed the social and political situation in her native country with a special focus on the status of women in Islamic societies.In response to the repeated criticism about the beauty and perfection in her works in an interview with Gerald Matt in connection with the exhibition in Kunstraum Dornbirn she insisted: "I am not merely concerned with beauty, actually it is more about poetry. As an Iranian woman I am on the one hand deeply rooted in the beauty of allegorical, poetic language and on the other hand exposed to the influence of politics, violence, suppression and brutality. Beauty and poetry are also an answer for me, a means of opposing the violence everywhere. Even though my work refers to political darkness, violence, oppression and pain this is always contrasted to an incredible poetry, aesthetics and harmony inherent in people that reminds us of the humanity in all of us. That has nothing to do with decoration but is rather connected with a deep lying paradox within myself."In Kunstraum Dornbirn (23 March - 20 May 2018) three video works from the artist's current series were shown: Illusions & Mirrors, 2013; Roja, 2016; Sarah, 2016.English and German text.