I finally got out to see an exhibit! Since I have been lying low during the pandemic, I have rarely ventured into a gallery. But since I was meeting my old chum B., we decided to take in an exhibition.
Rebel Rebel was a good choice. The Curve at the Barbican is a unique space which begs the visitor to take a journey. Sokhanvari has installed her paintings of a range of iconic Iranian women along its length, the small egg tempera pieces placed on a backdrop of geometric patterns recalling traditional Islamic art work.
It's a sumptuous mix of pop art, portraiture and Iranian cultural history, as the artist places her subjects, among them directors, singers and actors, against vivid backdrops of rugs, curtains and walls all brilliantly coloured and patterned. The names were all new to me but well known in their times: Delkash was the first woman to cross dress on screen. Kobra Saeedi was an actor and writer who decried sexism and now lives in obscurity. Ramesh was a pop singer who fused genres. And many more besides.
At the end of the space is a giant mirrored screen showing some of the films of the subjects. When one reads the biographies of these amazing women it is sobering to hear how often their voices were silenced by the 1979 revolution. Some emigrated, some were imprisoned and others disappeared from view. Many died young. The triumph of the exhibit is to see them rendered as bursting with life and in full voice.
Rebel Rebel continues until 26 February 2023 at the Barbican Centre in London.
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