The Museum of Fine Arts is currently exhibiting She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World," which will run through Jan. 12 and features photographs from 12 prominent Iranian and Arabic female photographers. Throughout the gallery, each woman's photographs provide a unique commentary on the social conditions of her homeland - ranging from observations about women's traditional societal roles to interpretations about the effects of war on everyday life.
Upon first entering the gallery, the viewer is greeted by a larger-than-life portrait by Lalla Essaydi. Entitled "Bullet Revisited #3," the piece is broken into a triptych of three enormous Polaroids and depicts a woman reclining luxuriously on a bed, gazing disinterestedly out of the frame. Her bored expression is juxtaposed with the decorations on the bed, her clothing and the background - all of which are adorned by a mosaic of bullet casings.
On the adjacent wall, a description of the exhibit describes the difference between the stories these photos tell and the stories most western societies associate with the Arab world. As it explains, the purpose of the exhibit is to "challenge Western notions about the 'Orient,' examine complexities of identity and redefine documentary as a genre." This goal is achieved through the artists' attempts to demystify women in the Middle East through their work.
The exhibit is divided into sections of similarly themed pieces. "Deconstructing Orientalism" deals with the issue of the hijab, or headscarf. One of the most provocative pieces from this section is "Untitled I & II" by Jananne Al-Ani. The piece consists of two photos positioned on opposite sides of a small hallway. The pictures depict Al-Ani and the women of her family dressed in different levels of veiling, and each panel shows the same women looking across the space at another version of themselves. The viewer is caught in between the two, becoming a part of the work as the women in the photographs stare back from both sides. The effect is both powerful and chilling, forcing the viewer to think about the implications of the veil and how it affects a woman's identity.
In a series of nine photographs entitled "Mother, Daughter, Doll," Boushra Almutawakel suggests that religious extremism has taken control of women's bodies. In this series, a woman and her daughter are shown in various stages of veiling - a doll in the little girl's arms is slowly covered as well. As the eye progresses down the line of photos, the pairs' clothing changes from color to black, in conjunction with the growing seriousness of their expressions. The second to last picture shows the woman, her daughter and the doll adorned in full burqa, with mesh over their eyes. The final photo presents only the black background, making a poignant statement about how the veil can take away the identity of the wearer.
Another area of the gallery, called "Constructing Identities," features images of contemporary Arab society through varying visual media, like large groups of photos and a section of television screens. The last major theme is "New Documentary," which follows "real life experiences" such as "urban life, war, occupation, protest and revolt" and the effects that they have had on everyday life.
Gohar Dashti's "Untitled #4, 5, 1, 7, 8 and 2" brings this theme to life with an assortment of photos depicting a young couple placed amidst a battlefield. In one photo, the couple is shown hanging white flags on a barbed wire fence
