Zarha

Zahra is an image inspired by the novel Women Without Men (1990) by Iranian writer Shahrnush Parsipur, who weaves stories together about the lives of five women in Tehran during the summer of 1953, when a CIA-backed coup restored the Shah's family to power. This book, which forced its author into exile, draws parallels between quests for freedom in an oppressive, crisis-stricken country. Neshat's photographs, which portray figures from the same Iranian historical context of the 1950s, are adorned with ink calligraphy. The inscriptions, etched into the skin, make us want to draw closer so we can decipher the face.