Shirin Neshat
dal 8/11/2014 al 14/2/2015
Segnalato da
8/11/2014
Shirin Neshat
Mathaf - Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha
Afterwards. On show the artist's photographic series from the 1990s to the present, and video installations, addressing historical, cultural and political realities on which the artist has focused on for the past 30 years.
curated by: Abdellah Karroum
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha presents Afterwards, the first solo exhibition in the region by artist Shirin Neshat. This major show is located on the ground floor galleries and introduces a group of existing and newly produced works, including a photographic series inspired by The Book of Kings (Shahnama), an epic poem written by Persian poet Ferdowsi, c. 977 and 1010 CE. In addition to this, the museum has in display a selection of video installations commenting on historical, cultural and political realities on which the artist has focused on for the past 30 years.
This exceptional body of work reveals Neshat’s intention to build relationships between ancient mythologies and contemporary events that challenge our lives. Her vivid poetic expression repeatedly manifests itself in her signature visual vocabulary, which is comprised of photography, calligraphy, poetry and filmmaking. With these elements, Neshat creates powerful narratives that require viewers to decrypt, interpret and position themselves within the work in order to fully grasp its meaning. As viewers move through the galleries, the confrontation with the subjects portrayed becomes inevitable and provokes an emotional tension that places them closer to the artist’s perspective when she took the photographs.
In her photographic series, Neshat superimposes layers of texts and illustrations onto the images, emphasizing the multidimensional aspects of history - past and present, fictions and realities - and thereby creating iconic images. As Neshat said in her interview with the curator:“The Book of Kings is a conceptual and artistic approach to narrating history, questioning the notion of ‘heroism,’ and capturing the emotional and human realities behind the faces of those who stand in the intersection of love, devotion and sacrifice, yet violence, atrocity, and death.”
The work of Shirin Neshat explores the connections between ancient history and the politics of the present narrated through a strong visual language referencing the primal concepts of violence, passion and love in universal history. Using a montage of poetry and images that address the paradox of beauty and violence, the artist proposes different perspectives on these collective histories.
Image:Shirin Neshat, Emerging in Trance, 1995. Gelatin silver print, 81.2 x 121.2 cm. Courtesy QM Media Collection, Doha.
Press contacts:
Federica Zuccarini, fzuccarini@qma.org.qa
Rania Hussein, rhussein@qma.org.qa
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
Education City off Al-Luqta Street Doha, Qatar
Hours:
Sunday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Monday Closed
Tuesday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Friday 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Free admission to the permanent collection exhibition; 25 QR for temporary exhibitions.
Free entry for students and children under 16 to all exhibitions