Not A Typical Persian Girl (2022-)
The exhibition Not A Typical Persian Girl seeks to unveil the plight of women and girls in Iran by cataloguing some of the things that are forbidden to them – things like biking, riding a motorcycle, singing, and watching football in a stadium are some examples of everyday enjoyments that are forbidden to women in Iran.
But the exhibition also attempts to unveil the humour and vibrant spirit with which Persian women and girls confront the constraints placed upon them. The videos and photographs in Not A Typical Persian Girl follow a young woman who symbolises women living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even though political power continues to stifle the voices of women, this new generation is fighting back and taking the lead in the protest against the regime. Not A Typical Persian Girl can be me, you, and us. It’s time to open our eyes to the precariousness of democracy and human rights – and to celebrate and affirm those who continue to fight for them.
"In short filmed sequences, Atoosa Farahmand relates to these gender-discriminatory laws and prohibitions against homosexuality, subverting and canceling them, staging an alternative world... Strongly and evocatively, the Stockholm-based artist duo Farahmand and Hagberg pay tribute to the acts of resistance that girls and women in Iran carry out every day." - Sydsvenskan, 10 September 2022, Carolina Söderholm.
Not A Typical Persian Girl is an ongoing project where Atoosa Farahmand and Oscar Hagberg are examining womens right in Iran. The project includes video works, photographs, and a publication in English and Farsi.
It was exhibited at Redan Galleri in Malmö (20 Aug - 18 Sept) 2022 and had it´s international premiere at Hinterland, Vienna 1st of February 2023 until 1st of March. It was exhibited in Stockholm at Misschiefs 30th of March until 7th of May 2023. Recently, this project was selected by Shirin Neshat for Issue 16: Common Love in Der Greif. The issue will be published in November 2023, accompanied by a release event at Paris Photo.
Exhibition - Redan, Malmö
August 20 - September 18
Exhibition - Hinterland, Vienna
February 2 - March 4
Exhibition - Misschiefs, Stockholm
March 30 - May 15
Publication - Not A Typical Persian Girl
Released August 20, 2022The publication is 200 pages and two languages (English and Persian) and is a timeline of women's struggle for equality from 1850 to today. In addition, it also contains photographs from the exhibition and also excerpts from the filmed performance works. Photographs from the well-known war photographer Christine Spengler's documentation of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 form a time capsule to the historical event. An insight into what the contemporary Iranian resistance can look like is given through an interview series where six more or less famous people embroider their thoughts. They are people like Aram Bolandpaz (works for Iran International and writes about women's rights on his Instagram account with over 152,000 followers), Iran Khanoom (92-year-old model and influencer), Samira Mohayeddin (journalist on CBC Radio), Vivian Assal Koohnavard (professional dancer at the Berlin City Ballet), Sanam (singer and songwriter living in Tehran, Adel Sarvari (Queer activist and model in Mashhad, Iran).
