LA art exhibition on Middle East women opens

An exhibition of work by 42 female artists on women in the Middle East has opened in California, as a fierce battle over women's reproductive rights grips the United States. Challenging stereotypes about the region, it depicts what curators say are the personal and universal stories of women in Islamic societies.

An exhibition of work by 42 female artists on women in the Middle East has opened in California. Challenging stereotypes about the region, it depicts what curators say are the personal and universal stories of women in Islamic societies.

"So many people think that all women are the same in Middle Eastern lands, they're all oppressed, they are invisible, they have horrible lives," said curator Linda Komaroff. "And it's not true. It's like women everywhere. They have a good deal of agency and they act upon it."

Exhibits come from all over the Middle East and beyond, but include a number from Iran, which has been shaken in recent months after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for allegedly not properly wearing the compulsory veil.

Irrepressible spirit

One powerful picture by Iranian photojournalist Newsha Tavakolian shows an Iranian woman in traditional clothes – also wearing a pair of boxing gloves. Another, by Shirin Aliabadi, showcases the irrepressible spirit of a younger generation, depicting a woman whose blonde wig pokes out from under her scarf as she blows a bubble with gum.

'Miss Hybrid #3', 2008: "The exhibition will offer a fresh perspective on a country that is so often seen through a different lens in the news," the V&A said. That vibrant perspective is perhaps reflected in this work by Shirin Aliabadi, titled "Miss Hybrid #3", from 2008 (image: Estate of Shirin Aliabadi/Collection The Farjam Collection — Challenging stereotypes: "So many people think that all women are the same in Middle Eastern lands, they're all oppressed, they are invisible, they have horrible lives," said curator Linda Komaroff at the exhibition's press opening in Los Angeles on 19 April 2023. "And it's not true. It's like women everywhere. They have a good deal of agency and they act upon it"

The exhibition comes as the United States has been thrown into tumult over the issue of abortion, after the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. On Friday the court waded into the legal battle over abortion drug mifepristone, after a Texan judge issued a ruling that would ban this widely used medication.

Komaroff said the ongoing fight over abortion rights in the United States meant this was a timely exhibition. "Things are kind of going downhill for women in America in terms of our own control over our own bodies," she said. "American women have been complacent. It's easy for them to look to another country or another region and say, 'We're better off than they are.' But maybe we're not. Maybe we're all in the same boat together."

The exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) opens 23 April 2023 and runs until 24 September 2023.

(AFP)