Turbulent by Shirin Neshat

A few years ago, i saw the video work Turbulent by controversial Iranian artist Shirin Neshat in an installation at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. It remains one of the most singular, chilling and moving pieces of art i have ever witnessed. In the exhibit, you enter a completely dark room, with benches in the center. The two videos project on opposite walls.

The placard crediting the exhibit included the note that, in Islamic culture, women are forbidden to sing in public.



This essay by Atom Egoyan includes some further background and impressions of the piece, such as:

I entered a dark room. On one wall, a singer delivers a passionate love song to a group of men. He is faced away from his audience, secure that his performance will be accepted and adored from whatever position he chooses to take. This is his cultural privilege. He is a man, surrounded by men. On the opposite wall, a woman in a black chador stands silently throughout his song. She faces an empty auditorium. This is the position she has no choice but to take. Her society has imposed it on her. She is expected to face the empty seats. To comply with the strictures of her state, she can’t dance to the music, show the shape of her body, or uncover her head. Above all, she cannot sing in public. This might inflame the passions of the male viewers. It might break their concentration on their beloved singer, the man who is so confident of his audience’s devotion that he can turn his back to them.

Then something stunning happens. As the male singer finishes his song, he turns around to bow to his audience. Suddenly, a mysterious sound beckons him away from the appreciative, applauding men and he again turns around to face the lens. At this moment, on the opposite screen, the camera begins a sinuous, sensual track towards the hidden female singer. As the camera circles around this figure, we hear an impassioned wordless song composed of supernatural breaths and ecstatic cries — an amazing symphony of unbridled, primal emotion.