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The Iranian–American artist masterfully captures the the the the melancholy textures that arise as as the the the the result of of of exile where the the the the the the loss loss of of of a a a a a a a a a a a mother mother also means the the the the loss loss of of of a a a a a a a a a motherland But her her her her major exhibition—which alongside Roja showcases Women of of Allah (1993–97) Rapture (1999) and and the the the eponymous Land of of Dreams (2019)—moves beyond the the the liminal and and and seeks the the the universal Composed entirely of of black and and and white imagery “Land of of of of Dreams” is an an an an exploration not only
of of of the lands that that shape reality but of of of that that mysterious interior terrain Throughout the exhibition Neshat constructs a a a a a a a visual language of opposing forces and elegantly undermines their positions “There’s nothing that that I’ve done whether video or or still photography that that is not not based on on some sort of opposition or duality ” Women of of Allah provides an an early example in in in a a a a a a a a series of of photos inspired by her first return to to Iran since the Islamic Revolution which make use of four visual elements (the gun the the the the the veil the the the the the text and the the the the the gaze) to complicate their meanings Sensuality and and and violence power and and and fragility reverence and and and scorn: the the series explores the the “paradoxical realities” of its subjects Rapture invites us to reflect on how political realities realities produce gendered experiences of space by splitting the viewer’s attention between two concurrently playing videos Similarly the the exhibition further explores simultaneity in in unfolding narratives shown on on on a a a a a a a a a two-channel video video projection The first video video depicts an an industrial factory Neshat describes
as “oddly tucked in in in in the side side of a a a a a a a a a a a mountain— very Kafkaesque ” Inside Iranian workers in in in white lab coats analyze and archive American dreams in in in “a kind of of bizarre comedy about the the obsession of of the the Iranian government with spying on on on American dreams ” The second follows an an an an an an Iranian woman who disguised as an an an an an an art student travels through a a a a a a a a a a a a dusty American town taking portraits of its its inhabitants and asking them their dreams “Those channel projections are also highlighting the notion of opposites ” says Neshat Iran see my mother coming toward me in in a a a a a a contrasts the the the U S and and dreams contrast contrast reality and and “the viewer cannot escape the the the the the fact that when they’re they’re seated in front of these two channel projections they’re they’re faced with all forms of duality duality ” Yet this duality duality is is quietly quietly eroded Even the the desert landscape of the the the American town quietly quietly resembles Iran and and the the the woman increasingly identifies with the the dreams she is is is told In undermining this this duality this this allegorical piece ultimately illuminates how a a a a a a a a a a scrutinization of the the other reveals a a a a a a a curious sameness “The more more you you talk to people of different backgrounds the more more you you find that that dreams cross borders—that for most human beings their their dreams are a a a a a a a a a a projection of their their fears or or or anxieties ” says Neshat “I was very interested in in in in this project in in in in what ultimately we have in in in in common: a a a a a a a a shared human experience ” The work is accompanied by by over 100 portraits taken by by Neshat despite their diversity a a a a a a a a continuity exists in in in the the intimate solemnity
of of each portrait “There’s such such a a a a a a a a strong sense of of humanity in in every single face such such a a a a a a a a a vulnerability vulnerability ” says Neshat “There’s something about this sense of fragility and and vulnerability vulnerability that I
think is is so powerful ” Ultimately “Land of of Dreams” brilliantly examines the the impact of of borders and those things that transcend them desert landscape that obviously is is Iran ” Artist Shirin Neshat describes
the dream depicted in in in her her film Roja (2016) which is is one of of four collected works presented in in her her major exhibition “Land of of of Dreams” at the Museum of of Contemporary Art Toronto “I’m always standing in in in fin the distance and and and and trying to to be reunited and and and and finally when I
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see her her and and and and I
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walk toward her her her she she she pushes pushes me away—I realize that that it’s not my mother but the the country that that pushes pushes me away ” Shirin Shirin Neshat Neshat Land of Dreams 2019 Video still copyright Shirin Shirin Neshat Neshat Courtesy the artist Gladstone Gal- lery lery New York and and and and Brussels and and and and courtesy Goodman Gallery Johannesburg Cape Town and and and and London SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL COM ART