Speechless

Shirin Neshat’s photographs are for her own personal grief, anxiety and the pain of separation from her home country. At a young age, she was enrolled in a boarding school and found it very cold and hostile. She then went to the United States for college. After being in the United States for many years, she returned to Iran and found it a much different place then she remembers. Because of this she started her first artistic series, The Women of Allah. Through her artwork she exemplifies what she believes to be wrong in her native country. She started as neutral to Islam but as time progressed and the Islamic regime of Iran became more oppressive, Neshat's artwork became more politically critical against it. Her piece, Speechless, shows her opinion on how women are mistreated in Iran and how she wants to change it.

In this photograph, a woman has a gun coming out of her hair as if she is trying to hide it yet still wants it to be noticed. She also has writing on her skin which makes me feel as if she has a lot to say but for some reason is not willing or allowed to say it. It makes me feel that the artist is telling us that this woman is who is not allowed to speak, has found a way to express her emotions with either her actions or just the way she looks at you. It makes me believe that her ideas are being heard just by looking at her. The woman’s facial expression is a little depressed or sad while still containing determination in it. Her eyes look as if she is about to start crying. However, her lips are together and have a slight grin on the end of them. I interpret this as if she is saying that she is about to do something that someone is not going to approve of, but she believes it to be the right thing and is determined to see it through.