A young woman is dancing in the middle of an old disused shed. She is surrounded by about fifteen soldiers who scrutinize her with their gaze. During her choreography, she stumbles, then falls to the ground. Suddenly, his body is covered with bruises. She gets up, fear in her eyes, continues to dance as best she can, then runs out of the hangar…
This scene of The Furywhich stars Iranian-American actress Sheila Vand, is carried by the crystalline voice of Tunisian-born singer Emel Mathlouthi, who performs the piece Holm in Arabic (originally a Persian song).
In interview with The PressShirin Neshat explains to us that after producing fairly frontal political works in the 1990s – such as her photographic series The Women of Allah or his video installations Turbulent And Rapture –, she decided to put the pedal soft on these very hot and controversial subjects, which earned her quite harsh criticism from the Iranian government.
“For 10, 15 years, my works have been more evocative, tells us the designer, who moved to the United States at the age of 22, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but who has returned regularly. in Iran from 1990 to 1996. My works are more conceptual, borrowing the form of dreams, even if there is still a political background. »
But a year ago she was challenged by the trial of a former Iranian prison guard in Sweden, Hamid Nouri, accused of having participated in the murder of nearly 5,000 prisoners, including many young girls and young elderly women. aged 12 to 30, executed in 1988.
What shocked me the most was to learn that most of these girls had been raped before being killed, that several of those who had survived had committed suicide. In short, that the trauma had been total.
Shirin Neshat
It’s all been the spark plug of The Furywhich is interested in the female body, “object of desire and violence”, and “playground of ideological and political battles” in Iran.
The dancer that we see in the video is certainly free, but she remains “haunted by her trauma of detention”, says Shirin Neshat, now 66 years old.
“The rhetoric of the prison guards was that young girls could not be executed before losing their virginity, insists Shirin Neshat. It’s horrible, isn’t it? It is the contradiction of this government led by clerics, who preach religion on the one hand, but who act in such a violent way towards their population in general and their women in particular. »
PHOTO PIERRE-OLIVIER MARINIER LESEIZE, PROVIDED BY PHI
Shirin Neshat came to Montreal a few times. In 2009, she presented her film Women Without Men at the cinema of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Was she influenced by the women’s protest movement sparked a year ago by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after her violent arrest by Tehran vice police?
“I shot my video in June, three months before the protest movement, answers Shirin Neshat. I thought of adapting the video, Iranian women are so brave and strong and defiant, while being the victims of this regime… But basically, my video installation was going in the same direction! It’s the victimization of my character that leads to the riots that follow. »
In Brooklyn
The work was shot in Bushwick, a predominantly Hispanic and African-American neighborhood of Brooklyn, Shirin Neshat having wanted to testify to her presence in this community which welcomed her.
Although I was inspired by the violent treatment suffered by many Iranian women, I wanted my character to be external to Iran, to evoke an inner rage that could be that of any immigrant woman experiencing injustice, be it economic, social or political. I think a lot of people can relate to her.
Shirin Neshat
We evoke the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who said he could not do poetry that was not political. Does Shirin Neshat share this point of view? Basically, aren’t her works all political, in spite of herself? “My life has been defined by the Islamic Revolution and by the political reality of Iran, and it continues to be, as I have lived in exile ever since, so yes, I share that view of Darwish. Even if we paint flowers, it becomes a political gesture. »
PHOTO PIERRE-OLIVIER MARINIER LESEIZE, PROVIDED BY PHI
During the virtual reality experience, the visitor embodies the character of the dancer, who is scrutinized by the soldiers who surround her.
At the Phi Centre, the 16-minute video installation (which will run on a loop) will occupy part of the large room on the ground floor. As is often the case in his installations, two screens will face each other.
“I like to present points of view which are in contrast, in opposition, East and West, East and West, points of view which emphasize our contradictions, our paradoxes, because that’s who I am, insists Shirin Neshat. I am an Iranian who lives in the United States, but my vision is outside Iran. My life is made up of dualities, it is plural. In the video, the central character is Iranian, but there are Hispanics, Afro-Americans, Asians… That’s my reality. »
The visitor will also be able to experience a virtual reality dive, a segment of approximately 7 minutes, before concluding his journey in the sound habitat – in the basement – where he can discover the musical universe of Emel Mathlouthi, an immersion of about twenty minutes.
The Fury, by Shirin Neshat. From June 28 to August 20 at the Phi Center.