Giving a Voice to the Controlled

While looking through Shirin Neshat’s work, I noticed that the subjects in her photos look like they have a story to tell. I really appreciated that Neshat’s subject seem to tell a story not only through their eyes but also some of them have text somewhere on their body. The people in Neshat’s photos appear to be mostly women and children – the part of Islamic society who seems to be kept under control the most by men. Neshat is basically letting the voices of the “controlled” part of society be heard by the world, when they otherwise would not be heard.

I was most drawn to the little boy with the different symbols drawn all over him and holding bullets to a gun that is seemingly off camera. I think this photo is supposed to be shocking and attention grabbing to make the audience aware that children, I am assuming mostly little boys, are manipulated and dragged into “military” service at a young age. This photo is quite shocking because the little boy is sitting, staring up at the camera with big, innocent eyes, yet some day, he might grow up to be a man who suppresses the voices of women and children. It seems like an endless cycle of repression.

The photo I chose to put up on the blog is a picture that is similar to the little boy holding the bullets. I chose to put up a photo of a child’s pair of feet with a gun in between the feet. I think this photo portrays the same kind of message that the photo of the little boy does, that an innocent little child could grow up and be a monster. I don’t think that this fear is one that is unique to Iranian culture; I think it’s also a fear that is felt in other places, including the United States. I appreciate that Neshat’s message can be universal but also specific to Iranian culture.