Statement

The exoticness of the (more) natural state of bodies, which promised paradise to those Iranian of Naserian era who had travelled to Europe (Farang), has continued today in another form; emancipation and ordinariness of bodies is still eye-catching, whimsical, and unaccustomed for us. Exploring the source and mechanism of this exoticism is the main reason for this exhibition. The question is who benefit from conditioning bodies, taking out their souls? 

Description

This project was about the political, social, and cultural processes through which human beings are affected, limited, and controlled. This control and influence can be articulated in a range of meanings that on the one hand show the control of the rulers over citizens in the form of laws and on the other hand signifies the impact of citizens on each other in the form of traditions and customary ethics taking into account, that citizens of each group or individuals benefits from some forms of power position of their own sort. It is as if a human who is distinct from objects and animals for her subjectivity and agency, at every moment of her social/collective life is experiencing the depletion of will and is forced to abide by the rules of both hard and soft domination.

What led me to this vision was watching European women free of the constraints of what is called the Islamic hijab during my trip to Europe. Their (more) natural lives - more natural since, as it was pointed out, limitations more than being related to any specific culture or society come from human’s inevitable collective life - and their disengagement with their bodies was thought-provoking. On that trip I lived my whole freedom by not watching up my body and came back with a bunch of photos took from women and their hair. I managed this exhibition using those photos in four sections including one video and three installations. The concepts of affecting and getting affected were emphasized and the interaction and involvement of the audience was essential.

photo installation

In this part I had my photographs printed on sheets of galvanized iron and put them together on the walls in my intended composition. Galvanized sheets are unprotected against scratches, pressure or even fingerprints.

video installation

This section was composed of two video screens beside each other showing the experience I was occupied with during my trip; on the left women regardless of their bodies were busy with some school projects while the screen on the right showed the detailed frames of women’s hair and hijab fabrics being replaced and faded in each other. In the very recent century, Iranian women have repeatedly undergone the changes desired by their rulers regarding the issue of hijab, without being able to make a significant impact on their own conditions.

Please touch

Please touch. This part included tiny movable frames of collage on a galvanized screen with the text “please touch” written nearby. The audience was allowed to move the photos which were cut, scratched, and deformed formerly in process of production and put them together again as they wish. While taking photos and making collages I had objectified my women and here their pieces were again objects to the audience’s desire.

play with me (make fun of me)

the other section of the exhibition was an installation of a shallow container made from galvanized sheet, filled with water and iron filing, glass cap, magnets and cushions made of different forms of women’s normal hijab such as Chador or the specific hijab for schoolgirls called Maqna’eh. A photo of two women and a man was attached on the bottom of the container. Audiences could interfere with the photo by moving iron filing over it using magnets. Some covered one of women in her face, some put hijab on the other one’s hair. The other player would reset the prior doings, some wrote things over the photo, etc. The point was how we affect each other while just being entertained or having fun.

On the gallery walls around the installation play with me, a few sentences were pasted: The one who neglects ... what is neglected. The one who plays ... what is played with. The one who benefits ... what is consumed. What is alive... is not a thing but is an object.