A documentary explores the complex relationship of women with Islam in their society, still as contentious as ever

I chose the photos for this video from the internet by searching the words “Iran,” “women,” and “youth.” I mixed these images with photos I found on book covers and magazines. I tried to see what was available to the average person in the public sphere about Iran. I borrowed some photos from two great photographers, Newsha Tavakolian and Abbas Kowsari, who generously opened their archives to me. The rest are my own personal and family photographs.



Power of Cliche is a work from 2006. I thought it had passed its expiry date. But the issue of Iranian women keeps being revisited. The cliche continues to resonate, even though we are experiencing a shift in the way Iranian women are used to represent Iran.

Power of Cliche is a lamentation. When I made it I felt trapped between the two forces of fundamentalism and western liberal capitalism.

27-28 October at REDCAT in Los Angeles