ART CITIES:N.York-Shirin Neshat

Over the past three decades, Shirin Neshat has produced some of the most arresting imagery in contemporary art. The Iranian-born New York-based artist has dedicated her practice to progressing understandings of the religious and political forces of power that shapes human existence and has gained a reputation as one of the most significant artists working today.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Gladstone Gallery Archive

Essential to Shirin Neshat’s practice is her unique point of view. As a young adult, the artist experienced the Iranian Islamic revolution and the rise of radical Islam in the 1970s. Her position as an Iranian woman who has lived – in exile – in America since the 1990s has fueled a desire to bring nuance to dominant binary narratives, such as Islam versus Feminism. “Land of Dreams” marks a pivot in Neshat’s gaze towards the “Western World” and opens the newest chapter in her practice. The exhibition comprises a portion of the 100+ photographic portraits and two video installations. For the first time, both mediums converge into one immersive experience to present a portrait of contemporary America under the Trump administration. For the artist, America is on the verge of a paradigm shift: “We are seeing a reshuffling of the cards of power and its players. With the rise of white supremacy and the present threat against immigrants, I now turn my lens towards my host country, America. This new series of work investigates how these changes ultimately rupture individual lives”. Combining striking imagery with political satire, the videos evoke a shared humanity among those living under social, political and economic injustice. The series also deepens Neshat’s long- standing interest in the duality between the ephemeral nature of dreams and the tangibility of political issues. The photographic portraits represent the photographs that the fictional protagonist Simin would have taken during her interviews. They capture the diversity of American identities, including Native Indians, African Americans and Hispanics of varying ages and genders. A number of the portraits are inscribed with hand-written Farsi calligraphy, which annotates the subjects’ dreams or notes their name, place and date of birth. Created in 2019 in New Mexico, “Land of Dreams” is a multidisciplinary project, both fictitious and documentary in nature, that captures the state’s diverse American population. The first of two films “Land of Dreams”, follows a young Iranian art student named Simin, who travels around suburban and rural areas of New Mexico photographing local residents in their homes. As part of the protagonist’s assignment, Simin asks her subjects about their most recent dreams. As the subjects vividly detail their dreams, the viewer is transported into these imagined narratives alongside Simin, who wanders inside each participant’s subconscious mind. Neshat infuses the film with cinematic views of New Mexico’s sublime landscape alongside the everyday streets and neighborhoods where Simin travels. The second film, “The Colony”, reveals a sinister twist: Simin is an Iranian spy tasked with archiving the dreams and portraits she captures, which are recorded and analyzed in a bunker set within the mountains New Mexico. Unlike the dozens of dream scientists who quietly work and diligently follow orders in the factory-like facility, Simin is noticeably perplexed by one of her subjects, leading her on a path to try and find their subliminal connection. Through her incisive ability to allude to the absurdities and similarities between the United States and Iran, Neshat astutely explores the complexities between the ephemeral nature of dreams and the dangerous impact of oppressive political ideologies and policies to reveal a shared humanity. Alongside the films, the photographic installation “Land of Dreams” comprises 111 photographs of New Mexico residents who Neshat captured throughout filming. Similarly to Simin, Neshat asked her subjects about their dreams, which she recorded in Farsi on many of the portraits, along with the sitters’ names and dates and places of birth. The artist’s practice of applying calligraphy to portraits recurs throughout her oeuvre, and in many of these new photographs, Neshat additionally included technically intricate, ornate drawings that depict fantastical elements of the dreams. The artist notes, “We drove across the country to search for a landscape that at once looked like Iran and America’s Southwest. We settled on New Mexico not only for its spectacular nature but also for its demographically diverse communities of Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic, and Anglos.” Through making these complex and interwoven works, Neshat formed a deep interpersonal connection with each person she met, resulting in a powerful and encompassing portrait of America.

Photo: Shirin Neshat, Land of Dreams (Film still), 2019. © Shirin Neshat, Courtesy Shirin Neshat and Gladstone Gallery

Info: Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24th Street, London, Duration: 16/1-27/2/2021, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00 (Schedule an appointment), www.gladstonegallery.com