Stripped 1996

Shirin Neshat’s photograph presents us with a veiled woman, her hands raised to obscure her face. But what really commands our attention is the elaborate henna patterns and Farsi script that adorn her skin. Henna itself is a fascinating material, derived from a flowering plant and used for centuries in North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia for body art. The application is a slow, skilled process. Here, Neshat uses it to powerful effect. Henna is traditionally associated with adornment and celebration, yet here it becomes a medium for inscribing political and religious identity. The text, elegant and flowing, contrasts sharply with the gesture of concealment. The very act of writing on the body is an assertion, a claim to visibility and agency. It's as though Neshat is challenging the viewer to look beyond the veil. It’s a potent reminder that even within constraints, the body can be a site of resistance, a canvas for complex expression.