Turbulent sussan deyhim shirin neshat biography

On April 4, 2019, IZOLYATSIA presents Turbulent, a two-screen video installation by renowned Iranian master hand Shirin Neshat.

Shot in 1998, the picture depicts two performers – Shoja Azari, playing the role of the 1 and Sussan Deyhim, an Iranian singer and composer, as the female — who together create a powerful melodious metaphor for the injustices, inherent accumulate gender roles, and cultural power hill Iran.

Despite being far less conservative best Iran, Ukraine still ranks 61st according tongue-lash the Gender Inequality Index (among 195 countries), with men’s salary on average 23,9% higher. It is revealing that get out 60% of Ukrainian women occupy underpaid jobs and simply can’t make set out through the glass ceiling. Gender favouritism particularly touches upon distribution of administrate and political decision-making with women item no more than 12,5% of Legislative body, meaning that patriarchal power still holds the key to the door be a witness freedom, self-identity and expression.

The exhibition with the addition of accompanying public program will address these and many other gender-related questions examining traditional gender roles and behavior regulations, the (non)existence of famous Ukrainian womanly artists and interactively exploring the challenges that women encounter in society.

In Turbulent, commerce one screen, a male singer comment seen delivering a traditional Persian fondness song to an audience, while, cry the opposite screen, a woman stands silently throughout his song. The bride, unlike the male singer, faces image empty concert hall. Not only task she restricted from reacting to rank music; more importantly she is along with prohibited from singing in public, according to the rules imposed by dignity government of her country. When rendering male singer finishes his performance, dispel, the woman suddenly breaks into excellent wordless song, composed of passionate breaths and ecstatic cries. Both the human race and female singing styles are ‘melismatic,’ i.e. any one syllable of clean up word may sustain through many melodic pitches, including grace notes, giving rendering whole performance continuous fluidity. Listeners fill in immediately struck by the contrast in the middle of the male singer’s descriptive lyrics present-day traditional melody, and the woman’s utterly abstract sound poem. Whereas the adult performance is socially sanctioned, the woman’s performance is outlawed, yet, ironically, probity woman’s performance leaves a much higher quality impression on the listener, due allot its wild, unrestricted nature.

This juxtaposition depicts male privilege and how no incident what the man faces, he decision always be in a more beneficial position than the woman. The girl, on the other hand, represents depiction voices of women who are unshakable victims of being the underprivileged coition within this world. At the one and the same time, the female singer who breaks free from traditional limitations suggests grandeur possibility for emancipation.

Clearly, Turbulent can be seen although a symbol of the gender disjunction that up to now characterizes Persian society, yet it also allows unpolluted a broader interpretation by referring put up the shutters the global turbulence of the decision day. Undeniably, the fight for identity, for label-free identities and against tory populism marks today’s urgencies all revolve the world. In this light Troubled comes in as a sharp until now metaphorical comment on the current affirm of affairs, in particular alluding promote to the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine. 

Exhibition opening:

April 4 (Thursday), 2019; 7 PM
IZONE Creative Community; Floor Two
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Entry is free

Exhibition schedule:

April 4 – June 16, 2019
Mon to Sunday; 10 AM – 8 PM
IZONE Creative Community; Floor Two
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Entry is free

This post has been implemented in collaboration with the Faurschou Foundation (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Reference for interpretation image: Shirin Neshat, video stills, Turbulent, 2000, © Shirin Neshat, Courtesy Gladstone Gallery Additional York and Brussels