Asia House Gallery
63 New Cavendish Street
London W1
UK
This exhibition brings together a fascinating selection of works by some of Iran's most talented and extraordinary women artists. Through photography and film it focuses on the feelings of anxiety, isolation and the sense of loss that Iranian society, and women artists in particular, have been experiencing in the last 30 years, living in Iran.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the exhibition is the sense of humour with which the artists tackle their problems, addressing major issues such as Islamic paternalism, loss of identity, isolation from the rest of the world, the Iranian Revolution and the devastating eight-year war with Iraq from 1981-1989 where thousands of teenagers ran to martyrdom. 30 Years of Solitude shows that the contemporary art of Iran has been hugely influenced by the traumatic historic events of the last three decades, and that millions of Iranians have been affected by them in one way or another. As Faryar Javaherian says "Art was a way to exorcise all the evils witnessed during the war and the Revolution. After World War II there was a similar outburst of art, literature and philosophy in Europe".
The images and stories in this exhibition provide an unmissable opportunity to discover more about Iran.
As part of the exhibition, the film Old Man of Hara by Mahvash Sheikholeslami 2001 will also be shown in the gallery.
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